Viscoelectric coefficient for water

Abstract

An estimate is made of the viscoelectric coefficient of water from measurements of the viscosity of water retained between parallel sheets of montmorillonite at various separations. The observed results can be explained on the assumption that a Stern layer of molecular dimensions is present on each clay plate and the normal double layer field influences the viscosity in accordance with the expression η=η₀(1+fE²) where f has a value of (0.5–1.0)× 10^–15 V^–2 m². This is larger than the value found in surfactant water systems and comparable with, though slightly smaller than, earlier “theoretical” estimates based on extrapolation of the values for organic liquids.