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Fluids are composed of molecules that collide with one another and solid objects. The continuum assumption, however, considers fluids to be continuous. Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics that studies the mechanics of fluids and the forces on them. Fluid mechanics can be divided into fluid statics, the study of fluids at rest; and fluid dynamics, the study of the effect of forces on fluid motion. Fluid mechanics, especially fluid dynamics, is an active field of research with many problems that are partly or wholly unsolved. Fluid mechanics can be mathematically complex, and can best be solved by numerical methods, typically using computers. A modern discipline, called computational fluid dynamics (CFD), is devoted to this approach to solving fluid mechanics problems. Particle image velocimetry, an experimental method for visualizing and analyzing fluid flow, also takes advantage of the highly visual nature of fluid flow. Fluid statics or hydrostatics is the branch of fluid mechanics that studies fluids at rest. It embraces the study of the conditions under which fluids are at rest in stable equilibrium; and is contrasted with fluid dynamics, the study of fluids in motion.

Hydrostatics is fundamental to hydraulics, the engineering of equipment for storing, transporting and using fluids. Fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flow—the natural science of fluids (liquids and gases) in motion. Some of its principles are even used in traffic engineering, where traffic is treated as a continuous fluid, and crowd dynamics.

Fluid dynamics offers a systematic structure, which underlies these practical disciplines that embraces empirical and semi-empirical laws derived from flow measurement and used to solve practical problems. The solution to a fluid dynamics problem typically involves calculating various properties of the fluid, such as velocity, pressure, density, and temperature, as functions of space and time.

Fluid Mechanics is an essential subject in the study of the behaviour of fluids. The book is complimented by many worked examples, contains innovative ideas on fluid mechanics.