In physics, a fluid is a substance that continually deforms (flows) under an applied shear stress. Fluids are a subset of the phases of matter and include liquids, gases, plasmas and, to some extent, plastic solids. Fluids are substances that have zero shear modulus or, in simpler terms, a fluid is a substance which cannot resist any shear force applied to it. Although the term "fluid" includes both the liquid and gas phases, in common usage, "fluid" is often used as a synonym for "liquid", with no implication that gas could also be present. For example, "brake fluid" is hydraulic oil and will not perform its required incompressible function if there is gas in it. This colloquial usage of the term is also common in medicine and in nutrition ("take plenty of fluids"). Liquids form a free surface (that is, a surface not created by the container) while gases do...