Mach number

Mach number also mach number  (mäk)

n. Abbr. M

The ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound in the surrounding medium. For example, an aircraft moving twice as fast as the speed of sound is said to be traveling at Mach 2.

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[After Ernst Mach.]

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Mach number

n

(Mathematics & Measurements / Units) (often not capital) the ratio of the speed of a body in a particular medium to the speed of sound in that medium. Mach number 1 corresponds to the speed of sound Often shortened to Mach

[named after Ernst Mach (1838-1916), Austrian physicist and philosopher]

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Mach number

The ratio of the speed of a body to the speed of sound in a particular medium, usually the Earth's atmosphere. For example, an aircraft flying through air at twice the speed of sound has a Mach number of 2. The Mach number of an aircraft travelling at a given velocity depends on the altitude of the aircraft and other atmospheric conditions that affect the speed of sound near the aircraft. See also subsonicsupersonictransonic

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The ratio of the velocity of a body to that of sound in the surrounding medium.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

Mach number - the ratio of the speed of a moving body to the speed of sound ratio - the relative magnitudes of two quantities (usually expressed as a quotient)