With a Velocity of Sound

V.M. Fomin, S.M. Aulchenko, A.F. Latypov

Long-range passenger airplanes do not fly with a supersonic velocity today. “Supersonic” projects TU-144 and Concorde turned out to be cost-inefficient. The first attempt to break the sonic barrier for peaceful purposes failed, because when an airplane approaches the sonic barrier, the drag drastically increases, while the lift force decreases. If we don’t have “supersonics”, what is it that we have? It’s “transonics”.

Transonic velocities cover the range slightly higher and slightly lower than the velocity of sound (approximately from 0.8 to 1.2 of the velocity of sound). The term had to be introduced to describe the transitional flow regime, with part of the flow becoming supersonic and the other part of the flow remaining in the subsonic regime...

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