Polymer rheology : fundamentals and applications Rheology unites the seemingly unrelated fields of plasticity and non Newtonian fluids by recognizing that both these types of materials are unable to support a shear stress in static equilibrium. In this sense a plastic solid is a fluid. Granular rheology refers to the continuum mechanical description of granular materials. One of the tasks of rheology is to empirically establish the relationships between deformations and stresses respectively their derivatives by adequate measurements. These experimental techniques are known as rheometry and are concerned with the determination with well defined rheological material functions. Such relationships are then amenable to mathematical treatment by the established methods of continuum mechanics. In this book rheology the study of the deformation and flow of matter deals primarily with the stresses generated during the flow of complex materials such as polymers colloids foams and gels. A rapidly growing and industrially important field it plays a significant role in polymer processing food processing coating and printing and many other manufacturing processes.