Is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a boundary to the local speed of sound. It is named after the Czech physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach.
where:
M is the local Mach number,
u is the local flow velocity with respect to the boundaries (either internal, such as an object immersed in the flow, or external, like a channel), and
c is the speed of sound in the medium, which in air varies with the square root of the thermodynamic temperature.
By definition, at Mach 1, the local flow velocity u is equal to the speed of sound. At Mach 0.65, u is 65% of the speed of sound (subsonic), and, at Mach 1.35, u is 35% faster than the speed of sound (supersonic). Pilots of high-altitude aerospace vehicles use flight Mach number to express a vehicle’s true airspeed, but the flow field around a vehicle varies in three dimensions, with corresponding variations in local Mach number.