The study of gas dynamics is often associated with the flight of modern high-speed aircraft and

atmospheric reentry of space-exploration vehicles; however, its origins lie with simpler machines. At the
beginning of the 19th century, investigation into the behaviour of fired bullets led to improvement in
the accuracy and capabilities of guns and artillery.[3] As the century progressed, inventors such as
Gustaf de Laval advanced the field, while researchers such as Ernst Mach sought to understand the
physical phenomenon involved through experimentation.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the focus of gas dynamics research shifted to what would
eventually become the aerospace industry. Ludwig Prandtl and his students proposed important
concepts ranging from the boundary layer to supersonic shock waves, supersonic wind tunnels, and
supersonic nozzle design.[3] Theodore von Kármán, a student of Prandtl, continued to improve the
understanding of supersonic flow. Other notable figures (Meyer, Luigi Crocco, and Shapiro) also
contributed significantly to the principles considered fundamental to the study of modern gas dynamics.
Many others also contributed to this field.

Accompanying the improved conceptual understanding of gas dynamics in the early 20th century was a
public misconception that there existed a barrier to the attainable speed of aircraft, commonly referred
to as the "sound barrier." In truth, the barrier to supersonic flight was merely a technological one,
although it was a stubborn barrier to overcome. Amongst other factors, conventional aerofoils saw a
dramatic increase in drag coefficient when the flow approached the speed of sound. Overcoming the
larger drag proved difficult with contemporary designs, thus the perception of a sound barrier. However,
aircraft design progressed sufficiently to produce the Bell X-1. Piloted by Chuck Yeager, the X-1 officially
achieved supersonic speed in October 1947.[4]

Historically, two parallel paths of research have been followed in order to further gas dynamics
knowledge. Experimental gas dynamics undertakes wind tunnel model experiments and experiments in
shock tubes and ballistic ranges with the use of optical techniques to document the findings. Theoretical
gas dynamics considers the equations of motion applied to a variable-density gas, and their solutions.
Much of basic gas dynamics is analytical, but in the modern era Computational fluid dynamics applies
computing power to solve the otherwise-intractable nonlinear partial differential equations of
compressible flow for specific geometries and flow characteristics.

Introductory concepts

Breakdown of fluid mechanics chart

There are several important assumptions involved in the underlying theory of compressible flow. All
fluids are composed of molecules, but tracking a huge number of individual molecules in a flow (for
example at atmospheric pressure) is unnecessary. Instead, the continuum assumption allows us to
consider a flowing gas as a continuous substance except at low densities. This assumption provides a
huge simplification which is accurate for most gas-dynamic problems. Only in the low-density realm of
rarefied gas dynamics does the motion of individual molecules become important.

A related assumption is the no-slip condition where the flow velocity at a solid surface is presumed
equal to the velocity of the surface itself, which is a direct consequence of assuming continuum flow.
The no-slip condition implies that the flow is viscous, and as a result a boundary layer forms on bodies
traveling through the air at high speeds, much as it does in low-speed flow.

Most problems in incompressible flow involve only two unknowns: pressure and velocity, which are
typically found by solving the two equations that describe conservation of mass and of linear
momentum, with the fluid density presumed constant. In compressible flow, however, the gas density
and temperature also become variables. This requires two more equations in order to solve
compressible-flow problems: an equation of state for the gas and a conservation of energy equation. For
the majority of gas-dynamic problems, the simple Ideal gas law is the appropriate state equation.

Fluid dynamics problems have two overall types of references frames, called Lagrangian and Eulerian
(see Joseph-Louis Lagrange and Leonhard Euler). The Lagrangian approach follows a fluid mass of fixed
identity as it moves through a flowfield. The Eulerian reference frame, in contrast, does not move with
the fluid. Rather it is a fixed frame or control volume that fluid flows through. The Eulerian frame is most
useful in a majority of compressible flow problems, but requires that the equations of motion be written
in a compatible format.

Finally, although space is known to have 3 dimensions, an important simplification can be had in
describing gas dynamics mathematically if only one spatial dimension is of primary importance, hence 1-
dimensional flow is assumed. This works well in duct, nozzle, and diffuser flows where the flow
properties change mainly in the flow direction rather than perpendicular to the flow. However, an
important class of compressible flows, including the external flow over bodies traveling at high speed,
requires at least a 2-dimensional treatment. When all 3 spatial dimensions and perhaps the time
dimension as well are important, we often resort to computerized solutions of the governing equations.

Mach number, wave motion, and sonic speed

The Mach number (M) is defined as the ratio of the speed of an object (or of a flow) to the speed of
sound. For instance, in air at room temperature, the speed of sound is about 340 m/s (1,100 ft/s). M can
range from 0 to ∞, but this broad range falls naturally into several flow regimes. These regimes are
subsonic, transonic, supersonic, hypersonic, and hypervelocity flow. The figure below illustrates the
Mach number "spectrum" of these flow regimes.
Mach number flow regimes spectrum

These flow regimes are not chosen arbitrarily, but rather arise naturally from the strong mathematical
background that underlies compressible flow (see the cited reference textbooks). At very slow flow
speeds the speed of sound is so much faster that it is mathematically ignored, and the Mach number is
irrelevant. Once the speed of the flow approaches the speed of sound, however, the Mach number
becomes all-important, and shock waves begin to appear. Thus the transonic regime is described by a
different (and much more difficult) mathematical treatment. In the supersonic regime the flow is
dominated by wave motion at oblique angles similar to the Mach angle. Above about Mach 5, these
wave angles grow so small tha