What's the difference between liquid and fluid?
By rahul_2689
@rahul_2689 (634)
Hyderabad, India
October 12, 2008 11:52am CST
This question may sound strange or even funny but I couldn't resist asking. My dad was down with flu last week and was advised to consume lots of fluids. This is where this question struck me. Unfortunately, I couldn't meet the doctor concerned and none of the others whom I enquired with could come up with a satisfactory answer. So, I'm finally posting my question here. Can anyone please give me an answer with proper reasons the difference between the two.
And please use normal english terms. I searched for it over the net but didn't succeed as the language was too technical and I didn't understand the meanings of those terms used to deifferentiate between fluids and liquids.
3 people like this
10 responses
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
12 Oct 08
Doesn't that means the same like 2 x 5 = 10 and 5 x 2 = 10. It is a complicated when you're talking on the medical point of view. Fluid is water alone while liquid can be in the form of soft food like broth, soup or any kind of food that is watery in nature.
1 person likes this
@rahul_2689 (634)
• Hyderabad, India
12 Oct 08
Hey zandi, thanks for responding. Your answer has proved really helpful and hopefully I'll be able to satisfy people whose reasons I rejected earlier with this response.
@Arkie69 (2156)
• United States
12 Oct 08
When a Doctor suggests fluids he means a liquid without solids in it. There is actually not different in a fluid and a liquid. When a Doctor suggests a liquid diet he means a liquid with a limited amount of soft solids in it. Fluids = no solids and liquid = soft solids.
1 person likes this
@stvasile (7306)
• Romania
12 Oct 08
When I was in the 7th grade, they taught us the 3 usual states of matter: solid, liquid and gaseous state.
The solid was defined as an object that has its own shape and volume.
The liquid was defined as having its own volume, but taking the shape of the space containing it.
The gas was defined as lacking both volume and shape.
The fluid term designated the liquids and gases.
@kriskhedkar (877)
• India
12 Oct 08
Fluid means means a substance which can flow. This contains liquids as well as gases.
@rahul_2689 (634)
• Hyderabad, India
12 Oct 08
Your answer still leaves me with a question. As you said fluid contains liquids as well as gases, can we call the water in rivers and oceans as fluid?
@Sillychick (3275)
• United States
12 Oct 08
For everyday use, they mean basically the same thing. The big difference is in physics fluid includes gas.
Here are the definitions according to msn encarta dictionary.
liquid http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/liquid.html
1. flowing substance: a substance in a condition in which it flows, that is a fluid at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, and whose shape but not volume can be changed
fluid http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/fluid.html
1. liquid: a liquid substance ( not in technical use )
2. physics chemistry liquid or gas: a substance whose molecules flow freely, so that it has no fixed shape and little resistance to outside stress, e.g. a liquid or gas
1 person likes this
@bigott (618)
• India
12 Oct 08
fluid is a generic term which can be a liquid or a gas.
differentiatin' them accordin' to a dictionary fluids and liquids as a noun are interchangeable .liquid and fluid as an ajective mean the same and describe state of something.
A membrane while not a liquid can be a fluid . it can absorbs or secrete fluida or liquid.
eg u never say "memberane is a fluid"
u always say "membrane is fluid"
the operative word here is 'a'
@bigott (618)
• India
12 Oct 08
how would i m goin' to knw that u already visted that sites.
And one thin' more .Suppose if a biology book writer writes book on mitosis and meosis he first read articles and other books about it and then frame all that in his own book.Then u call it plagirism NO u cant.
the question u ask is not for comment but to give u a fact and FACT REMAINS SAME.
@rahul_2689 (634)
• Hyderabad, India
12 Oct 08
Ok, so you want me to discuss plagiarism issues here?
Let me brief you about plagiarism. A person is said to have plagiarized if he/she picks up materials directly from articles or books or any other source for that matter with giving reference details.
You could easily post the link of the site and save yourself some valuable time and energy. I'm posting the link below where I found exactly the same answer. What you've done is picked up sentences and framed them up as per your liking. This is called plagiarism.
http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question23047.html
Coming to the book thing, can you possibly show me two books which have exactly the same content ( here I mean exactly same sentences for each topic)? I'm sure you can't. Every author does some sort of research work but never lifts sentences from other books with quoting the author. Only standard definitions are given same and you know the reason why.
Now, let others decide whether your post is plagiaristic or not.
@rahul_2689 (634)
• Hyderabad, India
12 Oct 08
I guess you should read the 6th post in this discussion by Sillychick. This what you too should have done. Maybe you can't copy-paste things here as you haven't reached 500 posts but you could atleast quote your source by typing it.
@solaris765 (28)
• Philippines
13 Oct 08
the term "fluid" can apply to both liquids and gases. A fluid is something that flows and does not have a definite volume (or shape, as what we are taught in first grade) of its own. The doctor means to say that your dad should drink a lot of liquids. =o
@apakhale123 (69)
• India
13 Oct 08
Hi! Liguid is fluid but all fluids are not liquids (air is not liquid). That much I know.
@swetakumar (1)
• India
13 Oct 08
liquid is something which non sticky ,easy flowing and free from impurities and fluid is the other way
