Critical Mach number Critical Mach number In aerodynamics, the critical Mach number (Mcr or M* ) of an aircraft is the lowest Mach number at which the airflow over some point of the aircraft reaches the speed of sound, but does not exceed it. At the lower critical Mach number, airflow around the entire aircraft is subsonic. At the upper critical Mach number, airflow around the entire aircraft is supersonic. For an aircraft in flight, the speed of the airflow around the aircraft differs considerably in places from the airspeed of the aircraft; this is due to the airflow having to speed up
Mach number nose.) As the Mach number increases, so does the strength of the shock wave and the Mach cone becomes increasingly narrow. As the fluid flow crosses the shock wave, its speed is reduced and temperature, pressure, and density increase. The stronger the shock, the greater the changes. At high enough Mach numbers the temperature increases so much over the shock that ionization and dissociation of gas molecules behind the shock wave begin. Such flows are called hypersonic. It is clear that any object traveling at hypersonic speeds will likewise be exposed to the same extreme temperatures as the gas behind