Submitted by _whydah_ t3_10phvgl in askscience
OlympusMons94 t1_j6ng2lg wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in How viscous is the magma in the mantle? by _whydah_
Liquids (and solids) are much less compressible than gases, but they are still compressible. Constant volume (incompressibikity) is just (sometimes) a useful simplifying assumption. (In other contexts like sound/seismic wave speed, it would be, well, complicating to say the least, given that would result in an infinite wave speed.)
If you have a tall enough, a column of metal, or even rock, it will deform under the pressure from its own weight. A penny is just very small and light, and deformation is negligible. Like a solid, a liquid will also not deform without without some force being applied, but the type of deformation is different.
[deleted] t1_j6nhltz wrote
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