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Asanaircraftmovesthroughtheair,theairmoleculesneartheaircraftaredisturbedandmovearoundtheaircraft.Exactly
howtheairreactstotheaircraftdependsupontheratioofthespeedoftheaircrafttothespeedofsoundthroughtheair.
Becauseoftheimportanceofthisspeedratio,aerodynamicistshavedesignateditwithaspecialparametercalledtheMach
numberinhonorofErnstMach,alate19thcenturyphysicistwhostudiedgasdynamics.
Foraircraftspeedswhichareverynearthespeedofsound,theaircraftissaidtobetransonic.Typicalspeedsfortransonic
aircraftaregreaterthan250mphbutlessthan760mph,andtheMachnumberMisnearlyequaltoone,M~=1.Whilethe
aircraftitselfmaybetravelinglessthanthespeedofsound,theairgoingaroundtheaircraftexceedsthespeedofsoundat
somelocationsontheaircraft.Intheregionswherethelocalairspeedisnearorgreaterthanthespeedofsound,we
encountercompressibilityeffectsandtheairdensitymayvarybecauseoflocalshockwaves,expansions,orflowchoking.
ThefirstpoweredaircrafttoexplorethisregimewerethehighperformancefightersofWorldWarII.Theseaircraftseemedto
encounterasoundbarrieratwhichdragwasincreasingfasterthanthrust.Therewasspeculationinthemid1940'sthat
mannedflightwasnotpossibleatspeedsfasterthanthespeedofsound,eventhoughthemuzzlevelocityofriflebulletsis
supersonic.Ofcourse,theflightoftheX1Ain1947provedthatpeoplecouldflyfasterthansoundand,untiltherecent
retirementoftheConcorde,anypersonwithenoughmoneycanflysupersonic.Asmentionedabove,eventhoughmodern
airlinerstypicallyflyataboutM=.85,theflowoverthewingsistransonicorsupersonic.Dragincreasesdramaticallyasan
aircraftapproachesMach1,soairlinersusehighthrustgasturbinepropulsionsystems.OntheslideweshowaDC8
airlinerwhichispoweredbyfourturbofanengines.Thewingsofairlinersaretypicallysweptinplanformtoreducethe
transonicdrag.ForMachnumberslessthan2.0,thefrictionalheatingoftheairframeislowenoughthatlightweight