Why do fluids exert pressure only normal to a surface at rest?
In a fluid at rest, any tangential (shear) force would cause the fluid to flow due to its inability to resist shear stress. According to Newton’s third law, if a tangential force existed, the fluid would exert an equal and opposite force, leading to motion. Since the fluid is at rest, no such motion occurs, and the force must be normal to the surface.
Ref: NCBI Bookshelf, Ideal Gas Law: P1V1/T1 = P2V2/T2.