IntroductionIn general a change in gas ?

ow velocity involves a change in pressure,

whichis related to a change in gas density. At low velocities the pressure
variationswithin the ?ow are small compared to the average absolute pressure.
Densityvariations will be so small that we can assume the gas to be
incompressible.As the velocity increases this approximation becomes inaccurate.
Densityand temperature changes become essential. The study of compressible ?uid?ows
is called Gas dynamics.The most spectacular phenomena in gas dynamics are related
to the ratioof the ?ow velocity Vand the speed of sound c. The speed of sound
cisthe velocity of propagation of a small pressure perturbation relative to thegas.
This corresponds to the velocity of the propagation of information inthe ?ow. The
ratio M=V/c is called the Mach number. A ?ow in whichM<1 is called subsonic. A ?ow
with M>1 is called supersonic. Asubsonic ?ow approaching an obstacle will be warned
by acoustic waves andwill smoothly ?ow around the obstacle. A supersonic ?ow will
not receivewarnings, because the acoustic waves are washed away by the ?ow. The ?
owwill collide on the obstacle forming a shock wave. In ?gure 1.1 we illustratethe
di?erence between a subsonic and a supersonic ?ow. As we will see
latercompressibility e?ects become dominant for M=1.The phenomenon corresponds to a
fundamental change in the type of thedi?erential equations describing the ?ow.
Subsonic ?ow are described byso called elliptical di?erential equations. Supersonic
?ows are described b