A subfield of fluid statics, aerostatics is the study of gases that are not in motion with respect to the coordinate system in which they are considered. The corresponding study of gases in motion is called aerodynamics.
Aerostatics studies density allocation, especially in air. One of the applications of this is the barometric formula.
An aerostat is a lighter than air craft, such as an airship or balloon, which uses the principles of aerostatics to float.
Treatment of the equations of gaseous behaviour at rest is generally taken, as in hydrostatics, to begin with a consideration of the general equations of momentum for fluid flow, which can be expressed as:
,