2006-11-11 15:34:45 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Mach is the unit of calculation for speed, whereby its how fast a sound wave can travel in 1 second.
Hence, Mach 1 means the 1 times the speed of sound, which is the basic unit of measurement. Mach 2 henceforth means twice the speed of sound and so on.
Modern military jets usually have a published speed of Mach 1 to Mach 2. However, that's the given speed when the aircraft is in certain configuration, for instance a clean configuration where there are no external stores like missiles or drop tanks (fuel). A fighter jet will rarely break the Mach 1.8 limit in a combat configuration (with external ordnance like missiles, drop tanks, or bombs).
The fastest speed will therefore depend largely on the aerodynamic shape of the jet in question, the role of the jet, the type and efficiency of its engines, and whatever is carried externally on the wings.
As a general rule, pilots rarely go supersonic as it depletes the fuel reserves quickly.
2006-11-11 18:32:02 · answer #1 · answered by CuriousE 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The mach number is a ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound. Sound travels at about 760 miles / hour at sea level. The equation for the mach number is:
object speed / speed of sound
The speed of sound decreases as air pressure decreases and so generally, sound is slower at higher altitudes.
Officially, the fastest jet is the SR-71 at mach 3.3.
Unofficially (classified), the fastest jet is the X-43 at possibly mach 7 to mach 10. This is an un-manned vehicle.
There are vehicles that travel faster than jets. Such as the space shuttle, interplanetary satellites, Apollo capsules.
2006-11-11 15:51:12 · answer #2 · answered by imnogeniusbutt 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mach 1 is 330 m/s or 741.4 mph, the speed of sound. The fastest air breathing jet in the world is the Blackbird SR-71. It exceeds Mach 3 or three times the speed of sound .
The fastest airplane ever is the X-15. It is rocket-powered and first set speed records in the Mach 4-6 range with Mach 4.43 on March 7, 1961; Mach 5.27 on June 23, 1961; Mach 6.04 on November 9, 1961; and Mach 6.7 on October 3, 1967.
The speed of a space shuttle in orbit is about Mach 23.71 or 17,580 miles an hour.
2006-11-11 15:48:29 · answer #3 · answered by kidd 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, not possible. The cones in front of the engines on the SR-71 were used to slow the airflow into the engine to subsonic speeds. Looked what happened to the X-15 during one of its high speed flights. First video records some of the damage after a Mach 6.7 speed run. Aircraft was made from a nickel alloy called Inconel. Note how much of the aircraft received heat damage. No, there will not be a need for a fighter to hit speeds of Mach 6 or faster.
2016-05-22 06:26:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mach speed (aka the speed of sound) is 760 mph at sea level. Some jets can reach hypersonic speed of Mach 3-Mach 5. The space shuttle re-enters the atmosphere at about Mach 25.
2006-11-11 15:44:33 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
1Mach is the speed of sound. That speed though is lower as the altitude increases. Each Mach factor is a mulitple of the speed of sound at that altitude. Going from memory... The speed of sound at sea level is approx 727 MPH while when Col Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 he only did about 620MPH at altitude. The fastest commercial jet is the Concorde at a average speed of Mach 2.02 (source wikipedia). The fastest Military jet is the SR-71 blackbird. Though the top speed has never been officially released from the US gov't, it is rumored in excess of Mach 3.5.
2006-11-11 15:49:31 · answer #6 · answered by rdbn7734 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
mach speed is a register of when a jet has reach the speed of sound. when a jet reaches 761 m.p.h. it has acheived Mach 1; the speed at which sound travels. the fastest jet record was at Mach 3.3 before the pilot slowed down. most jets travel at around 500 m.p.h.
2006-11-11 15:50:27 · answer #7 · answered by possumsdad 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think Mach speed is the speed of sound and I know there are planes that go twice the mach speed, not sure how much faster though,
2006-11-11 15:39:34 · answer #8 · answered by Nort 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋