"CL" and "CD" are constants only if the flow is steady. A special class of objects such as airfoils may reach a steady state when it slices through the fluid at a small angle of attack. In this case, the inviscid flow around an airfoil can be approximated by a potential flow satisfying the no-penetration boundary condition. The Kutta-Joukowski theorem of a 2D airfoil further assumes that the flow leaves the sharp trailing edge smoothly, and this determines the total circulation around an airfoil. The corresponding lift is given by Bernoulli's principle (Blasius theorem):