Fluid - Wikipedia 01/01/2025, 00:14

Fluid
In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that may continuously move and deform
(flow) under an applied shear stress, or external force.[1] They have zero shear modulus, or, in
simpler terms, are substances which cannot resist any shear force applied to them.

Although the term fluid generally includes both the liquid and gas phases, its definition varies
among branches of science. Definitions of solid vary as well, and depending on field, some
substances can have both fluid and solid properties.[2] Non-Newtonian fluids like Silly Putty
appear to behave similar to a solid when a sudden force is applied.[3] Substances with a very
high viscosity such as pitch appear to behave like a solid (see pitch drop experiment) as well. In
particle physics, the concept is extended to include fluidic matters other than liquids or gases.[4]
A fluid in medicine or biology refers to any liquid constituent of the body (body fluid),[5][6]
whereas "liquid" is not used in this sense. Sometimes liquids given for fluid replacement, either
by drinking or by injection, are also called fluids[7] (e.g. "drink plenty of fluids"). In hydraulics,
fluid is a term which refers to liquids with certain properties, and is broader than (hydraulic)
oils.[8]

Physics
Fluids display properties such as:

lack of resistance to permanent deformation, resisting only relative rates of deformation in a

dissipative, frictional manner, and
the ability to flow (also described as the ability to take on the shape of the container).
These properties are typically a function of their inability to support a shear stress in static
equilibrium. By contrast, solids respond to shear either with a spring-like restoring force—
meaning that deformations are reversible—or they require a certain initial stress before they
deform (see plasticity).

Solids respond with restoring forces to both shear stresses and to normal stresses, both
compressive and tensile. By contrast, ideal fluids only respond with restoring forces to normal
stresses, called pressure: fluids can be subjected both to compressive stress—corresponding to
positive pressure—and to tensile stress, corresponding to negative pressure. Solids and liquids
both have tensile strengths, which when exceeded in solids creates irreversible deformation and
fracture, and in liquids cause the onset of cavitation.

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Both solids and liquids have free surfaces, which cost some amount of free energy to form. In
the case of solids, the amount of free energy to form a given unit of surface area is called surface
energy, whereas for liquids the same quantity is called surface tension. In response to surface
tension, the ability of liquids to flow results in behaviour differing from that of solids, though at
equilibrium both tend to minimise their surface energy: liquids tend to form rounded droplets,
whereas pure solids tend to form crystals. Gases, lacking free surfaces, freely diffuse.

Modelling
In a solid, shear stress is a function of strain, but in a fluid, shear stress is a function of strain
rate. A consequence of this behavior is Pascal's law which describes the role of pressure in
characterizing a fluid's state.

The behavior of fluids can be described by the Navier–Stokes equations—a set of partial
differential equations which are based on:

continuity (conservation of mass),

conservation of linear momentum,
conservation of angular momentum,
conservation of energy.
The study of fluids is fluid mechanics, which is subdivided into fluid dynamics and fluid statics
depending on whether the fluid is in motion.

Classification of fluids
Depending on the relationship between shear stress and the rate of strain and its derivatives,
fluids can be characterized as one of the following:

Newtonian fluids: where stress is directly proportional to rate of strain

Non-Newtonian fluids: where stress is not proportional to rate of strain, its higher powers
and derivatives.
Newtonian fluids follow Newton's law of viscosity and may be called viscous fluids.

Fluids may be classified by their compressibility:

Compressible fluid: A fluid that causes volume reduction or density change when pressure
is applied to the fluid or when the fluid becomes supersonic.
Incompressible fluid: A fluid that does not vary in volume with changes in pressure or flow
velocity (i.e., ρ=constant) such as water or oil.
Newtonian and incompressible fluids do not actually exist, but are assumed to be for theoretical
settlement. Virtual fluids that completely ignore the effects of viscosity and compressibility are
called perfect fluids.

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See also
Matter
Liquid
Gas
Supercritical fluid

References
1. "Fluid | Definition, Models, Newtonian Fluids, Non-Newtonian Fluids, & Facts" (https://www.b
ritannica.com/science/fluid-physics). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
2. Thayer, Ann (2000). "What's That Stuff? Silly Putty" (https://pubsapp.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/s
tuff/7848scit3.html). Chemical & Engineering News. 78 (48). American Chemical Society
(published 2000-11-27): 27. doi:10.1021/cen-v078n048.p027 (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fce
n-v078n048.p027). Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20210507045350/http://pubsapp.
acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/7848scit3.html) from the original on 2021-05-07.
3. Kroen, Gretchen Cuda (2012-04-11). "Silly Putty for Potholes" (https://www.science.org/cont
ent/article/silly-putty-potholes). Science. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
4. Example (in the title): Berdyugin, A. I.; Xu, S. G. (2019-04-12). "Measuring Hall viscosity of
graphene's electron fluid" (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aau0685). Science.
364 (6436). F. M. D. Pellegrino, R. Krishna Kumar, A. Principi, I. Torre, M. Ben Shalom, T.
Taniguchi, K. Watanabe, I. V. Grigorieva, M. Polini, A. K. Geim, D. A. Bandurin: 162–165.
arXiv:1806.01606 (https://arxiv.org/abs/1806.01606). Bibcode:2019Sci...364..162B (https://u
i.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019Sci...364..162B). doi:10.1126/science.aau0685 (https://doi.or
g/10.1126%2Fscience.aau0685). PMID 30819929 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/308199
29). S2CID 73477792 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:73477792).
5. "Fluid (B.1.b.)" (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.271841/page/n361/mode/1up).
Oxford English Dictionary. Vol. IV F–G (1978 reprint ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
1933 [1901]. p. 358. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
6. "body fluid" (https://www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/748149/all/fluid?q=
body+fluid#4). Taber's online – Taber's medical dictionary. Archived (https://web.archive.org/
web/20210621125044/https://www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/748149/
all/fluid?q=body+fluid) from the original on 2021-06-21. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
7. Usage example: Guppy, Michelle P B; Mickan, Sharon M; Del Mar, Chris B (2004-02-28).
" "Drink plenty of fluids": a systematic review of evidence for this recommendation in acute
respiratory infections" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC351843). BMJ. 328
(7438): 499–500. doi:10.1136/bmj.38028.627593.BE (https://doi.org/10.1136%2Fbmj.38028.
627593.BE). PMC 351843 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC351843).
PMID 14988184 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14988184).
8. "What is Fluid Power?" (https://www.nfpa.com/home/About-NFPA/What-is-Fluid-Power.htm).
National Fluid Power Association. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20210623024634/h
ttps://www.nfpa.com/home/About-NFPA/What-is-Fluid-Power.htm) from the original on
2021-06-23. Retrieved 2021-06-23. "With hydraulics, the fluid is a liquid (usually oil)"

Bird, Robert Byron; Stewart, Warren E.; Lightfoot, Edward N. (2007). Transport Phenomena.
New York: Wiley, Revised Second Edition. p. 912. ISBN 978-0-471-41077-5.

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