The aerodynamics of air moving at high speeds (at the speed of a fighter jet or the concord for instance) or inside jet engines is often called gas dynamics. This distinction from aerodynamics is made because in those situations some of the methods used for aircraft at lower speeds no longer apply becuase things like sonic booms are part of the airflow.

picture with smooth flow along side sonic boom compared.

When an aircraft moves even faster or flies extremely high up in the atmosphere then even some of the theories of gas dynamics are no longer useful. At these conditions the molecules in the air are very far apart (for molecules) and the assumption on which gas dynamics are based start to break down. Also, when planes fly at these conditions they are often at very high temperatures which can cause chemical reaction to take place and these reactions also need to be taken into account.

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Last modified: Tue May 27 14:31:45 PDT 1997

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