MadSci Network: Physics |
The short answer is "no." To consider whether there would be a relation between two physical properties, you have to think about the physical mechanisms involved. The refractive index relates to the interaction of light with the electrons in a substance -- the more electrons (and the more polarizable the electrons) the higher the refractive index. The viscosity is the resistance to shearing force, and has to do with the interactions between molecules as they move past one another. These mechanisms are not related in any significant way. If you restricted yourself to a specific class of compounds, you might be able to find a correlation. For example, for the n-alkanes, the viscosity increases for bigger chains (because there is more opportunity for them to interact as they are moving past each other) and the refractive index also increases slightly (because the density of electrons is a little higher). So, for this very restricted class, you could correlate one property against the other, but it would only be valid for that class of comounds and would have no physical significance. You could do the same thing with any pair of properties; the two you picked are actually about as *un*related as any pair I can think of. Allan Harvey, steamdoc@aol.com "Don't blame the government for what I say, or vice-versa."
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