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Re:The mystery of the small dimensionless number with a big ... by kevinpet on Tuesday December 28, 2021 @02:11PM (#29716847)
Mach number is an odd example of a dimensionless number, especially with the example of measuring it in kph or mph (as opposed to being independent of altitude or temperature).
Re:The mystery of the small dimensionless number with a big ... by oakwhiz on Tuesday December 28, 2021 @03:12PM (#29717515)
Funny, I was thinking the exact opposite. The Mach number has two velocities that cancel out, and velocity tends to be an easy concept to grasp, making it a textbook example of a dimensionless number. The part where Mach numbers are converted back to velocities requires you to input knowledge on the speed of sound, but there isn't a single answer for that unless you know the composition of the fluid, which is dependent on chemical composition, altitude and temperature. If you take a guess for that number, it's a unit conversion error rather than a variation in the dimensionless quantity itself.