Fluid dynamics studies fluids in motion, while fluid statics studies fluids at rest. It has many applications, including aerodynamics and weather forecasting. Conservation laws and the continuum assumption are guiding principles. Aerodynamics has advanced with the invention of aircraft, and Octave Chanute was a key figure in modern aerodynamics.
Fluid dynamics refers to one subcategory of the science of fluid mechanics, while the other subcategory is the statics of fluids. While fluid statics deals with fluids at rest, fluid dynamics deals with fluids in motion. Any matter in gaseous or liquid state can be considered a fluid. Fluid dynamics is a discipline with many relevant applications in our modern world, in particular because it contains the study of aerodynamics and also because it includes part of weather forecasting. A typical fluid dynamics problem may include variables such as velocity, temperature, and density.
All physical sciences, including fluid dynamics, are primarily governed by conservation laws. These state that the total amounts of energy, mass, and linear momentum in a closed system remain constant, and that energy and mass can neither be created nor destroyed. That they can change shape, it is true, but they cannot disappear or come from nowhere. These laws form some of the most basic assumptions of science.
Another guiding principle of fluid dynamics is the continuum assumption, also called the continuum hypothesis. While fluids are known to be composed of discrete, microscopic particles, this hypothesis states that they are continuous and that their properties vary uniformly throughout. This often serves as a useful mathematical approximation, even if it technically ignores one of the basic characteristics of fluids.
Prior to the invention of powered flight and aircraft in the 20th century, the term hydrodynamics was often used interchangeably with fluid dynamics, because most of fluid mechanics was devoted to the study of moving liquids, rather than moving gases . As air travel became more common, the need arose for these machines to be more efficient at creating and maintaining lift, with minimal drag. The branch of study known as aerodynamics has come a long way due to the new technology, which has also been applied to automobiles, to some extent, with the aim of increasing fuel efficiency.
One of the most important figures in modern aerodynamics was Octave Chanute. In addition to compiling a comprehensive volume on the study of aerodynamics in the late 1800s, he personally assisted the Wright brothers in building their famous airplane, which made its first manned powered flight in 1903. It was probably with this help that they achieved their goal just ahead of the next closest contender, Samuel Pierpont Langley.
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