Shock Wave

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Shock Wave

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A surface or sheet of discontinuity (i.e., of abrupt changes in conditions) set up in a supersonic field or flow, through which the fluid undergoes a finite decrease in velocity accompanied by a marked increase in pressure, density, temperature, and entropy, as occurs, e.g., in a supersonic flow about a body. Sometimes called a shock. See attached shock wave, bow wave, condensation shock wave, detached shock wave, Mach wave, normal shock wave, oblique shock wave. </dd>

References

This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use