A Newtonian fluid’s shear stress is directly proportional to the rate of shear strain. This linear relationship is defined by Newton’s law of viscosity: [latex]\tau = \mu \frac{du}{dy}[/latex], where [latex]\tau[/latex] is the shear stress, [latex]\mu[/latex] is the dynamic viscosity (a constant of proportionality), and [latex]\frac{du}{dy}[/latex] is the shear rate or velocity gradient.
