👉 The Leslie fluid, also known as Leslie's fluid, is a viscous, non-Newtonian fluid developed by American chemist Leslie W. F. Leslie in the 1930s. It is a complex, shear-thinning fluid composed primarily of a mixture of hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and a small amount of water, with additives like glycerol and sodium hydroxide. Unlike simple Newtonian fluids, Leslie fluid exhibits a unique property where its viscosity decreases significantly under shear stress or when agitated, making it ideal for applications requiring low viscosity at high shear rates, such as in inkjet printing, biomedical devices, and certain industrial processes. This behavior is due to the way the polymer chains in the fluid align and slide past each other under stress, reducing internal resistance.
