Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Fluid mechanics
open-in-new
<p>Fluid mechanics is the branch of <a href="/facts/Physics/a7aH2y08">physics</a> concerned with the <a href="/facts/Mechanics/A3yHLQA5">mechanics</a> of <a href="/facts/Fluid/tMQ46Tmz">fluids</a> (<a href="/facts/Liquid/t9GkLWzt">liquids</a>, <a href="/facts/Gas/hVVAoodV">gases</a>, and <a href="/facts/Plasma_(physics)/1d3btMVU">plasmas</a>) and the <a href="/facts/Force/533Q1uzq">forces</a> on them.: 3 Originally applied to water (hydromechanics), it found applications in a wide range of disciplines, including <a href="/facts/Mechanical_engineering/cbId4fye">mechanical</a>, <a href="/facts/Aerospace_engineering/2Ib02w7f">aerospace</a>, <a href="/facts/Civil_engineering/avh5kEq2">civil</a>, <a href="/facts/Chemical_engineering/Fb64amQf">chemical</a>, and <a href="/facts/Biomedical_engineering/TNAa3sqa">biomedical engineering</a>, as well as <a href="/facts/Geophysics/ywVQ1sAQ">geophysics</a>, <a href="/facts/Oceanography/LtrG6peD">oceanography</a>, <a href="/facts/Meteorology/xblFr28q">meteorology</a>, <a href="/facts/Astrophysics/krFPRWLA">astrophysics</a>, and <a href="/facts/Biology/1M1ee3pB">biology</a>. </p><p>It can be divided into <i><a href="/facts/Fluid_statics/GYu6ljQ0">fluid statics</a></i>, the study of various fluids at rest; and <i><a href="/facts/Fluid_dynamics/y7uzSCfg">fluid dynamics</a></i>, the study of the effect of forces on fluid motion.: 3 It is a branch of <i><a href="/facts/Continuum_mechanics/vI7LpFDk">continuum mechanics</a></i>, a subject which models matter without using the information that it is made out of atoms; that is, it models matter from a <a href="/facts/Macroscopic/NLwPDtLe">macroscopic</a> viewpoint rather than from <a href="/facts/Microscopic/EHg18xvy">microscopic</a>. </p><p>Fluid mechanics, especially fluid dynamics, is an active field of research, typically mathematically complex. Many problems are partly or wholly unsolved and are best addressed by <a href="/facts/Numerical_methods/QT9cYa9z">numerical methods</a>, typically using computers. A modern discipline, called <a href="/facts/Computational_fluid_dynamics/zuWdtNJp">computational fluid dynamics</a> (CFD), is devoted to this approach. <a href="/facts/Particle_image_velocimetry/je8CQmmN">Particle image velocimetry</a>, an experimental method for visualizing and analyzing fluid flow, also takes advantage of the highly visual nature of fluid flow. </p>