TABLE OF CONTENTS Almost everyone has their own definition of the term hypersonic. If we were to conduct something like a public opinion poll among those present, and asked everyone to name a Mach number above which the flow of a gas should properly be described as hypersonic there would be a majority of answers round about five or six, but it would be quite possible for someone to advocate, and defend, numbers as small as three, or as high as 12.
P. L. Roe, comment made in a lecture at the Von K rm n Institute. Belgium, January 1970
This is the first of many short preview boxes in this book one for each of the chapters. Their purpose is to tell you in plain language right up front what to expect from each chapter and why the material is important and exciting. They are primarily motivational; they are here for you to encourage you to actually enjoy reading the chapter.
Part of the success of learning a new subject is simply to get going. The purpose of this chapter is to get going on our journey through hypersonic and high-temperature gas dynamics. It starts with some history. When and how did the first human-made object achieve hypersonic flight? When was the first time that a human flew hypersonically? What is so special about hypersonic flight anyway? Why is it important? Why do aerodynamicists single out hypersonic as a special flight regime separate from the more general regime of supersonic flight? After all, both...
