| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,801,721,025 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
Mach number |
Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.03 sec. |
|
Mach number (mäk) [for E. Mach Mach, Ernst (ĕrnst mäkh), 1838–1916, Austrian physicist and philosopher, b. Moravia. ..... Click the link for more information. ], ratio between the speed of an object and the speed of sound in the medium in which the object is traveling. An airplane that has the velocity of Mach 3.0 is traveling at three times the speed of sound as measured in the prevailing atmospheric conditions. Mach number the ratio of the speed of a body in a particular medium to the speed of sound in that medium. Mach number 1 corresponds to the speed of sound Mach number [′mäk ‚nəm·bər] (fluid mechanics) The ratio of the speed of a body or of a point on a body with respect to the surrounding air or other fluid, or the ratio of the speed of a fluid, to the speed of sound in the medium. SymbolizedNMa. Also known as relative Mach number. Mach number In the flow of a fluid, the ratio of the flow velocity, V, at a given point in the flow to the local speed of sound, a, at that same point. That is, the Mach number, M, is defined as V/a. In a flowfield where the properties vary in time and/or space, the local value of M will also vary in time and/or space. In aeronautics, Mach number is frequently used to denote the ratio of the airspeed of an aircraft to the speed of sound in the freestream far ahead of the aircraft; this is called the freestream Mach number. The Mach number is a convenient index used to define the following flow regimes: (1) subsonic, where M is less than 1 everywhere throughout the flow; (2) supersonic, where M is greater than 1 everywhere throughout the flow; (3) transonic, where the flow is composed of mixed regions of locally subsonic and supersonic flows, all with local Mach numbers near 1, typically between 0.8 and 1.2; and (4) hypersonic, where (by arbitrary definition) M is 5 or greater. Perhaps the most important physical aspect of Mach number is in the completely different ways that disturbances propagate in subsonic flow compared to that in a supersonic flow. Shock waves are a ubiquitous aspect of supersonic flows. See Compressible flow, Shock wave, Sonic boom How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in periodicals archive | |
|---|---|---|
After a laborious, stress-inducing six-week ordeal in which Price's grades, standardized test score and legitimacy of class work was dissected by the NCAA, his once-sleepy world is now moving at mach speed. The pope's posse inadvertently showed they can move at mach speed to save marriage from marauding gays but glacial speed when it comes to saving children from molesting priests. The Automotive Industry is Changing at Mach Speed -- Are You Ready for the Challenge? |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|