Viscosity is a measure of the
resistance of a
fluid to deform under either
shear stress or
extensional stress. It is commonly perceived as "thickness", or resistance to flow. Viscosity describes a fluid's internal resistance to flow and may be thought of as a measure of fluid
friction. Thus,
water is "thin", having a lower viscosity, while
vegetable oil is "thick" having a higher viscosity. All real fluids (except
superfluids) have some resistance to
stress, but a fluid which has no resistance to shear stress is known as an ideal fluid or inviscid fluid. The study of viscosity is known as
rheology.
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