Mach wave

The fan consists of an infinite number of Mach waves, diverging from a sharp corner.

These weak waves can combine in supersonic flow to become a shock wave if sufficient Mach waves are present at any location.

Mach waves can be used in schlieren or shadowgraph observations to determine the local Mach number of the flow.

A Mach wave is the weak limit of an oblique shock wave (a normal shock is the other limit).

In fluid dynamics, a Mach wave is a pressure wave traveling with the speed of sound caused by a slight change of pressure added to a compressible flow.

On 21 November 1963, the squadron was renamed the Sunliners and a new insignia was approved consisting of a black background with the international orange "mach wave" design.

Thus it is possible to have shockless compression or expansion in a supersonic flow by having the production of Mach waves sufficiently spaced (cf. isentropic compression in supersonic flows).

The first insignia for VA-146 was approved by CNO on 23 November 1956, consisting of two concentric circles, a yellow mach wave symbol and a yellow globe showing North and South America.

Early observations by Ernst Mach used grooves in the wall of a duct to produce Mach waves in a duct, which were then photographed by the schlieren method, to obtain data about the flow in nozzles and ducts.