What does the rigid post do?
In order to keep the sensing head small and still make accurate measurements down to even 2 centipoise, a patented “hammer and anvil” technique is used in which a rigid post is positioned close (approximately 1mm) to the vibrating beam tip. The fluid in the gap is sheared during beam oscillation. Because it’s viscous, it damps the beam oscillation, enabling measurement of fluid viscosities with oscillation frequencies of about 700 Hz. There is a visualization of this measurement technique at http://www.tdcollaborative.com/_files/HotToAnim.html. Measurement can be made from 2 to 1,000 centipoise in four overlapping range, 2-40cp, 5-100cp, 20-400cp, and 50-1000cp. Temperature can be measured from 0 degC (32F) to 180 deg C (356F).
