Define Mach Cone, Mach Angle, Zone of Action and Zone of Silence.

• The series of wave fronts form a disturbance envelope given by a straight line which is tangent to the family of circles. It will be seen that all the disturbance waves lie within a cone (shown in fig.) having a vertex/apex at the body at time considered. The locus of all the leading surfaces of the waves of this cone is known as Mach cone.

  

  • Whenever there is any disturbance in a compressible fluid, the disturbance is propagated in all the directions with a velocity of sound. The nature of propagation depends on the Mach number.

Mach angle:- It is defined as half of the angle of Mach cone. It is denoted by 'a'.

Zone of action:- When the Mach number is greater than 1 (M>1), the effect of disturbance is full only in the region inside the Mach cone. This region is known as the zone of action.

Zone of silence:- When the Mach number is greater than '1.0' (M>1), the effect of disturbance is not full in the region outside the Mach cone. This region which is outside the Mach cone is known as zone of silence.