In physics, the scallop theorem states that a swimmer that performs a reciprocal motion cannot achieve net displacement in a low- Reynolds number Newtonian fluid environment, i.e. a fluid that is highly viscous. Such a swimmer deforms its body into a particular shape through a sequence of motions and then reverts to the original shape by going through the sequence in reverse. At low Reynolds number, time or inertia does not come into play, and the swimming motion is purely determined by the sequence of shapes that the swimmer assumes.