Ideal Fluid

an imaginary fluid that lacks viscosity and thermal conductivity. There is no internal friction in an ideal fluid—that is, there are no tangential stresses between two neighboring layers. Such idealization is permissible in many cases of flow that are considered in hydroaeromechanics; it gives a good description of the real flow of liquids and gases at an adequate distance from the solid surfaces around which flow is occurring and from interfaces with an immobile medium. The mathematical description of the flow of an ideal fluid makes it possible to find theoretical solutions to a number of problems of the motion of liquids and gases in channels of various shapes, in the outflow of jets, and in flow around bodies.