Mach cone [′mäk ‚kōn]
Mach Cone
(fluid mechanics)
The cone-shaped shock wave theoretically emanating from an infinitesimally small particle moving at supersonic speed through a fluid medium; it is the locus of the Mach lines.
The cone-shaped shock wave generated by a sharp-pointed body, as at the nose of a high-speed aircraft.
Mach Cone
a conical surface that bounds the region in a supersonic flow of gas in which the sound waves (perturbations) emanating from a point source A of the perturbations are concentrated (see Figure 1). In a homogeneous supersonic flow of gas, the angle a between the generatrices of the Mach cone and its axis is called the Mach angle; it is related to the Mach number by the equation sin a = 1/M
Figure 1. Mach cone that arises upon supersonic flow around an object
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