The Continuity Equation Fluid Mechanics Lesson 6 Strong Medicine Fluid Flow and the Continuity Equation The objective of this lesson is to define fluid flow and understand how the conservation of flow can be used to determine fluid velocity or the cross sectional area of fluid conduits This lecture will move out of fluid statics which is the science of fluids at rest and into the domain of fluid dynamics One of the key equations in fluid mechanics is the continuity equation This equation states that the mass flow rate of a fluid is constant and it can be used to determine the velocity of a fluid in a pipe or conduit The Bernoulli equation is another important equation in fluid mechanics It is used in various fields including medicine most prominently in echocardiography which is the study of ultrasounds of the heart In this field the Bernoulli equation is routinely used to calculate the area of abnormal heart valves While the Bernoulli equation is important in the medical field the continuity equation is equally important as it determines the number of capillaries in the body
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