Patent ID: 7284413

Claim:
An apparatus for measuring viscosity of a medium with a micromechanical measuring facility and electronic systems for measuring, transducing, and analyzing signals, with the following features: a measuring zone integrated on a mechanically stable substrate is freely accessible or enclosed within a measuring chamber with pores or openings for diffusive or convective mass transport, the measuring zone containing two or more closely spaced conductors of which at least one is connected to a controllable current source or HF voltage source and of which at least one is completely or partially cantilevered from a suspension into the measuring zone, the position of the cantilevered conductor(s) being defined within the measuring zone by the resiliency of the suspension or their/its inherent resiliency and by voltage-dependent, or current-dependent electrical or magnetic attraction, or repelling forces, which can be changed by said HF voltage source or current source, and the measuring zone containing an integrated measuring device for detecting a viscosity-dependent change in position of the conductor(s) in response to changes of said attraction or repelling forces.