When used referring to mechanics, it is referring to the study of the motion of both rigid bodies and particles. The field of dynamics has two primary branches: kinematics, and kinetics.
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Fluid dynamics is the study of fluids (liquids and gases) in motion, and the effect of the fluid motion on fluid boundaries, such as solid containers or other fluids.
Fluid dynamics is a branch of fluid mechanics, and has a number of subdisciplines, including aerodynamics (the study of gases in motion) and hydrodynamics (liquids in motion).
The central equations for fluid dynamics are the Navier-Stokes equations, which are non-linear differential equations that describe the flow of a fluid whose stress depends linearly on velocity and on pressure.
One particularly noteworthy use of this dynamic is in Joseph Haydn's Surprise Symphony.
They tend to be used for dynamic changes over a relatively short period of time, while cresc and dim are generally used for dynamic changes over a longer range.
The Renaissance composer Giovanni Gabrieli was one of the first to indicate dynamics in music notation, but dynamics were used sparingly by composers until the late 18th century.