In fluid dynamics

Fluid dynamics

In physics, fluid dynamics is a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flow—the natural science of fluids in motion. It has several subdisciplines itself, including aerodynamics and hydrodynamics...

, drag (sometimes called air resistance or fluid resistance) refers to forces which act on a solid

Solid

Solid is one of the three classical states of matter . It is characterized by structural rigidity and resistance to changes of shape or volume. Unlike a liquid, a solid object does not flow to take on the shape of its container, nor does it expand to fill the entire volume available to it like a...

 object in the direction of the relative fluid

Fluid

In physics, a fluid is a substance that continually deforms 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....

 flow velocity

Flow velocity

In fluid dynamics the flow velocity, or velocity field, of a fluid is a vector field which is used to mathematically describe the motion of a fluid...

. Unlike other resistive forces such as dry friction, which is nearly independent of velocity, drag forces depend on velocity.

Drag forces always decrease fluid velocity relative to the solid object in the fluid's path.
Examples of drag include the component of the net

Net force

In physics, net force is the total force acting on an object. It is calculated by vector addition of all forces that are actually acting on that object. Net force has the same effect on the translational motion of the object as all actual forces taken together...

 aerodynamic or hydrodynamic force

Force

In physics, a force is any influence that causes an object to undergo a change in speed, a change in direction, or a change in shape. In other words, a force is that which can cause an object with mass to change its velocity , i.e., to accelerate, or which can cause a flexible object to deform...

 acting opposite to the direction of the movement of the solid object relative to the Earth as for cars, aircraft and boat hulls; or acting in the same geographical direction of motion as the solid, as for a sails on a down wind sail boat, or in intermediate directions on a sail depending on points of sail.