  According to Stokes' law, a moving solid surface experiences dissipation that
is linearly related to its velocity and the viscosity of the medium. This
linear dependence on viscosity forms the basis for many characterization
techniques for liquids. Unlike viscosities of different liquids, viscosities of
gases vary only in a narrow range which limits their use as an effective
characterization parameter using moving structures. Here we report experimental
results of dissipation showing exponential dependence on viscosity for
oscillating surfaces modified with nanostructures. The surface nanostructures
alter solid-gas interplay greatly, amplifying the dissipation response
exponentially for even minute variations in viscosity. Nanostructured resonator
thus allows discrimination of otherwise narrow range of gaseous viscosity
making it an ideal detection parameter for analysis. We attribute the observed
exponential enhancement to the stochastic nature of interactions of many
coupled nanostructures with the gas media.
