Loose Leaf for Modern Compressible

Flow: With Historical Perspective -

eBook PDF
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebooksecure.com/download/loose-leaf-for-modern-compressible-flow-with-hist
orical-perspective-ebook-pdf/
This International Student Edition is for use outside of the U.S.

Fourth Edition

Modern
Compressible Flow
Wi t h H i s t o r i c a l Pe r s p e c t i ve

John D. Anderson
Modern Compressible Flow
With Historical Perspective
Modern Compressible Flow
With Historical Perspective

Fourth Edition

John D. Anderson, Jr.

Curator for Aerodynamics
National Air and Space Museum
Smithsonian Institution, and
Professor Emeritus of Aerospace Engineering
University of Maryland, College Park
MODERN COMPRESSIBLE FLOW
Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright © 2021 by McGraw-Hill
Education. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without
the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education, including, but not limited to, in any network or other
electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.
Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the
United States.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 LCR 24 23 22 21 20 19
ISBN 978-1-260-57082-3
MHID 1-260-57082-7
Cover Image: © NASA

All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright page.
The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website
does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGraw-Hill Education
does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.
mheducation.com/highered
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John D. Anderson, Jr., was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on October 1, 1937.

He attended the University of Florida, graduating in 1959 with High Honors and
a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering Degree. From 1959 to 1962, he was a
Lieutenant and Task Scientist at the Aerospace Research Laboratory at Wright-
Patterson Air Force Base. From 1962 to 1966, he attended The Ohio State Uni-
versity under National Science Foundation and NASA Fellowships, graduating
with a Ph.D. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. In 1966, he joined
the U.S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory as Chief of the Hypersonic Group. In 1973,
he became Chairman of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University
of Maryland, and since 1980 has been a professor of Aerospace Engineering at
Maryland. In 1982, he was designated a Distinguished Scholar/Teacher by the
University. During 1986–1987, while on sabbatical from the university, Dr. Ander-
son occupied the Charles Lindbergh chair at the National Air and Space Museum
of the Smithsonian Institution. He continued with the Air and Space Museum one
day each week as its Special Assistant for Aerodynamics, doing research and writ-
ing on the history of aerodynamics. In addition to his position as professor of
aerospace engineering, in 1993 he was made a full faculty member of the Com-
mittee for the History and Philosophy of Science and in 1996 an affiliate member
of the History Department at the University of Maryland. In 1996 he became the
Glenn L. Martin Distinguished Professor for Education in Aerospace Engineering.
In 1999 he retired from the University of Maryland and was appointed Professor
Emeritus. He is currently the Curator for Aerodynamics at the National Air and
Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor
of Engineering at the University of Maryland.
Dr. Anderson has published twelve books: Gasdynamic Lasers: An Introduc-
tion, Academic Press (1976), and under McGraw-Hill, Introduction to Flight
(1978, 1985, 1989, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2016), Modern Compressible Flow
(1982, 1990, 2003, 2021); Fundamentals of Aerodynamics (1984, 1991, 2001,
2007, 2011, 2017); Hypersonic and High Temperature Gas Dynamics (1989); and
under the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (2006, 2019), Com-
putational Fluid Dynamics: The Basics with Applications (1995); A History of
Aerodynamics and Its Impact on Flying Machines, Cambridge University Press
(1997); Aircraft Performance and Design, McGraw-Hill (1999); The Airplane: A
History of Its Technology, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (2002);
Inventing Flight: The Wright Brothers and Their Predecessors, Johns Hopkins
University Press (2004); X-15: The World’s Fastest Rocket Plane and the Pilots
Who Ushered in the Space Age (with Richard Passman), Zenith Press (2014); and
The Grand Designers, Cambridge University Press (2018). He is the author of

v
vi About the Author

over 130 papers in radiative gasdynamics, re-entry aerothermodynamics, gasdy-

namic and chemical lasers, computational fluid dynamics, applied aerodynamics,
hypersonic flow, and the history of aeronautics. Dr. Anderson is in Who’s Who
in America. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, an Honor-
ary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and
a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, London. He is also a Fellow of the
Washington Academy of Sciences, and a member of Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Tau, Phi
Kappa Phi, Phi Eta Sigma, the American Society for Engineering Education, the
History of Science Society, and the Society for the History of Technology. In 1988,
he was elected as Vice President of the AIAA for Education. In 1989, he was
awarded the John Leland Atwood Award jointly by the American Society for
Engineering Education and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
“for the lasting influence of his recent contributions to aerospace engineering edu-
cation.” In 1995, he was awarded the AIAA Pendray Aerospace Literature Award
“for writing undergraduate and graduate textbooks in aerospace engineering which
have received worldwide acclaim for their readability and clarity of presentation,
including historical content.” In 1996, he was elected Vice President of the AIAA
for Publications. More recently, he was honored by the AIAA with its 2000 von
Karman Lectureship in Astronautics and with its History Book Award for 2002
for A History of Aerodynamics. In 2002, he was awarded the position of Honorary
Fellow of the AIAA, the Institute’s highest award. In 2012, he received the inau-
gural Hypersonic Systems and Technology Award from the AIAA. In 2017, the
National Aeronautic Association awarded him the Frank G. Brewer Trophy,
awarded annually “to an individual, a group of individuals, or an organization for
significant contributions of enduring value to aerospace education in the United
States.” In 2018, he was awarded the Benjamin G. Lamme Meritorious Achieve-
ment Medal by the College of Engineering of The Ohio State University.
Dr. Anderson is active and known for his professional and educational activ-
ities both nationally and internationally. He has given more than 40 short courses
to the major aerospace companies, the Air Force Academy, the government, and
in Europe at Rolls-Royce in England and the von Karman Institute in Belgium.
This includes a pioneering hypersonic aerodynamic course jointly sponsored by the
AIAA and the University of Maryland and televised live nationally by satellite. In
terms of the publishing world, in 1987 McGraw-Hill chose Dr. Anderson to be the
senior consulting editor on the McGraw-Hill Series in Aeronautical and Astronau-
tical Engineering. Recently, McGraw-Hill officially named the Anderson Series,
with the statement: “John D. Anderson’s textbooks in aeronautical and aerospace
engineering have been a cornerstone of McGraw-Hill’s success for over two
decades. McGraw-Hill proudly celebrates the impact that the Anderson Series has
had on aerospace engineers and on students past and present.”
CONTENTS

Preface to the Fourth Edition   xiii Chapter 3

One-Dimensional Flow 65
Chapter 1 3.1 Introduction 67
Compressible Flow—Some History and 3.2 One-Dimensional Flow Equations 71
Introductory Thoughts 1
3.3 Speed of Sound and Mach Number 74
1.1 Historical High-Water Marks 9 3.4 Some Conveniently Defined Flow
1.2 Definition of Compressible Parameters 78
Flow 12 3.5 Alternative Forms of the Energy Equation 78
1.3 Flow Regimes 15 3.6 Normal Shock Relations 86
1.4 A Brief Review of Thermodynamics 19 3.7 Hugoniot Equation 98
1.5 Aerodynamic Forces on 3.8 One-Dimensional Flow with
a Body 33 Heat Addition 102
1.6 Modern Compressible Flow 36 3.9 One-Dimensional Flow with Friction 111
1.7 Summary 38 3.10 Historical Note: Sound Waves and
 Problems 38 Shock Waves 118
3.11 Summary 121
 Problems 124
Chapter 2
Integral Forms of the Chapter 4
Conservation Equations for Oblique Shock and Expansion
Inviscid Flows 41 Waves 127
2.1 Philosophy 43 4.1 Introduction 129
2.2 Approach 43 4.2 Source of Oblique Waves 131
2.3 Continuity Equation 45 4.3 Oblique Shock Relations 133
2.4 Momentum Equation 46 4.4 Supersonic Flow Over Wedges
2.5 A Comment 49 and Cones 144
2.6 Energy Equation 50 4.5 Shock Polar 149
2.7 Final Comment 53 4.6 Regular Reflection from a
2.8 An Application of the Momentum Equation: Solid Boundary 151
Jet Propulsion Engine Thrust 54 4.7 Comment on Flow Through Multiple
2.9 Summary 63 Shock Systems 157
 Problems 64 4.8 Pressure-Deflection Diagrams 158

vii
viii Contents

4.9 Intersection of Shocks of Opposite 6.3 The Substantial Derivative 244

Families 159 6.4 Differential Equations in
4.10 Intersection of Shocks of the Nonconservation Form 247
Same Family 161 6.5 The Entropy Equation 253
4.11 Mach Reflection 163 6.6 Crocco’s Theorem: A Relation Between
4.12 Detached Shock Wave in Front of the Thermodynamics and Fluid Kinematics
a Blunt Body 165 of a Compressible Flow 254
4.13 Three-Dimensional Shock Waves 166 6.7 Historical Note: Early Development of the
4.14 Prandtl–Meyer Expansion Waves 167 Conservation Equations 256
4.15 Shock–Expansion Theory 174 6.8 Historical Note: Leonhard
4.16 Historical Note: Prandtl’s Early Research on Euler—The Man 258
Supersonic Flows and the Origin of the 6.9 Summary 260
Prandtl–Meyer Theory 183  Problems 261
4.17 Summary 186
 Problems 187 Chapter 7
Unsteady Wave Motion 263
Chapter 5 7.1 Introduction 265
Quasi-One-Dimensional Flow 191 7.2 Moving Normal Shock Waves 268
5.1 Introduction 195 7.3 Reflected Shock Wave 275
5.2 Governing Equations 196 7.4 Physical Picture of Wave Propagation 279
5.3 Area–Velocity Relation 199 7.5 Elements of Acoustic Theory 281
5.4 Nozzles 202 7.6 Finite (Nonlinear) Waves 287
5.5 Diffusers 218 7.7 Incident and Reflected
5.6 Wave Reflection from a Free Boundary 226 Expansion Waves 293
5.7 Summary 228 7.8 Shock Tube Relations 299
5.8 Historical Note: De Laval—A Biographical 7.9 Finite Compression Waves 300
Sketch 228 7.10 Summary 302
5.9 Historical Note: Stodola and the First Definitive  Problems 302
Supersonic Nozzle Experiments 230
5.10 Summary 232 Chapter 8
 Problems 234 General Conservation Equations Revisited:
Velocity Potential Equation 305
Chapter 6 8.1 Introduction 306
Differential Conservation Equations 8.2 Irrotational Flow 306
for Inviscid Flows 239 8.3 The Velocity Potential Equation 310
6.1 Introduction 241 8.4 Historical Note: Origin of the Concepts of
6.2 Differential Equations in Fluid Rotation and Velocity Potential 314
Conservation Form 242  Problems 316
 ix
Contents

Chapter 9 11.3 Determination of the Characteristic Lines:

Linearized Flow 317 Two-Dimensional Irrotational Flow 388
11.4 Determination of the Compatibility
9.1 Introduction 319
Equations 393
9.2 Linearized Velocity Potential Equation 320
11.5 Unit Processes 394
9.3 Linearized Pressure Coefficient 324
11.6 Regions of Influence and Domains
9.4 Linearized Subsonic Flow 326 of Dependence 398
9.5 Improved Compressibility Corrections 335 11.7 Supersonic Nozzle Design 399
9.6 Linearized Supersonic Flow 337 11.8 Method of Characteristics for Axisymmetric
9.7 Critical Mach Number 344 Irrotational Flow 405
9.8 Summary 350 11.9 Method of Characteristics for Rotational
9.9 Historical Note: The 1935 Volta Conference— (Nonisentropic and Nonadiabatic)
Threshold to Modern Compressible Flow with Flow 409
Associated Events Before and After 351 11.10 Three-Dimensional Method of
9.10 Historical Note: Prandtl—A Biographical Characteristics 411
Sketch 356 11.11 Introduction to Finite Differences 413
9.11 Historical Note: Glauert—A Biographical 11.12 Maccormack’s Technique 419
Sketch 359 11.13 Boundary Conditions 420
9.12 Summary 360 11.14 Stability Criterion: The CFL
 Problems 362 Criterion 422
11.15 Shock Capturing versus Shock Fitting;
Conservation versus Nonconservation Forms
Chapter 10 of the Equations 424
Conical Flow 365 11.16 Comparison of Characteristics and
10.1 Introduction 366 Finite-Difference Solutions with
Application to the Space Shuttle 425
10.2 Physical Aspects of Conical Flow 368
11.17 Historical Note: The First Practical
10.3 Quantitative Formulation (After Taylor
Application of the Method of Characteristics
and Maccoll) 368
to Supersonic Flow 428
10.4 Numerical Procedure 373
11.18 Summary 430
10.5 Physical Aspects of Supersonic Flow
 Problems 431
Over Cones 374
 Problems 378
Chapter 12
The Time-Marching Technique: With
Chapter 11 Application to Supersonic Blunt Bodies
Numerical Techniques for Steady and Nozzles 433
Supersonic Flow 379 12.1 Introduction to the Philosophy of Time-
11.1 An Introduction to Computational Marching Solutions for Steady Flows 436
Fluid Dynamics 382 12.2 Stability Criterion 442
11.2 Philosophy of the Method 12.3 The Blunt Body Problem—Qualitative
of Characteristics 385 Aspects and Limiting Characteristics 443
x Contents
12.4 Newtonian Theory 445
12.5 Time-Marching Solution of the Blunt
Body Problem 447
12.6 Results for the Blunt Body Flowfield 452
12.7 Time-Marching Solution of Two-
Dimensional Nozzle Flows 455
12.8 Other Aspects of the Time-Marching
Technique; Artificial Viscosity 457
12.9 Historical Note: Newton’s Sine‑Squared
Law—Some Further Comments 460
12.10 Summary 462
 Problems 463
Chapter 13
Three-Dimensional Flow 465
13.1 Introduction 466
13.2 Cones at Angle of Attack: Qualitative
Aspects 468
13.3 Cones at Angle of Attack: Quantitative
Aspects 476
13.4 Blunt-Nosed Bodies at Angle
of Attack 486
13.5 Stagnation and Maximum Entropy
Streamlines 496
13.6 Comments and Summary 497
 Problems 498
Chapter 14
Transonic Flow 501
14.1 Introduction 504
14.2 Some Physical Aspects of Transonic
Flows 505
14.3 Some Theoretical Aspects of Transonic
Flows; Transonic Similarity 509
14.4 Solutions of the Small-Perturbation Velocity
Potential Equation: The Murman and
Cole Method 514
14.5 Solutions of the Full Velocity Potential
Equation 520
14.6 Solutions of the Euler Equations 529
14.7 Historical Note: Transonic Flight—Its
Evolution, Challenges, Failures, and
Successes 536
14.8 Summary and Comments 548
 Problem 549
Chapter 15
Hypersonic Flow 551
15.1 Introduction 553
15.2 Hypersonic Flow—What Is It? 554
15.3 Hypersonic Shock Wave Relations 559
15.4 A Local Surface Inclination Method:
Newtonian Theory 563
15.5 Mach Number Independence 569
15.6 The Hypersonic Small-Disturbance
Equations 574
15.7 Hypersonic Similarity 578
15.8 Computational Fluid Dynamics Applied
to Hypersonic Flow: Some Comments 585
15.9 Hypersonic Vehicle Considerations 587
15.10 Historical Note 591
15.11 Summary and Final Comments 599
 Problems 599
Chapter 16
Properties of High-Temperature Gases 601
16.1 Introduction 603
16.2 Microscopic Description of Gases 606
16.3 Counting the Number of Microstates
for a Given Macrostate 614
16.4 The Most Probable Macrostate 616
16.5 The Limiting Case: Boltzmann
Distribution 618
16.6 Evaluation of Thermodynamic Properties in
Terms of the Partition Function 620
16.7 Evaluation of the Partition Function in Terms
of T and V 622
 xi
Contents

16.8 Practical Evaluation of Thermodynamic 17.10 Nonequilibrium Normal Shock Wave

Properties for a Single Species 626 Flows 690
16.9 The Equilibrium Constant 630 17.11 Nonequilibrium Quasi-One-Dimensional
16.10 Chemical Equilibrium—Qualitative Nozzle Flows 696
Discussion 634 17.12 Summary 705
16.11 Practical Calculation of the Equilibrium  Problems 705
Composition 635
16.12 Equilibrium Gas Mixture Thermodynamic
Properties 637 Appendix A
16.13 Introduction to Nonequilibrium Table A.1 Isentropic Flow Properties 707
Systems 644 Table A.2 Normal Shock Properties 712
16.14 Vibrational Rate Equation 645 Table A.3 One-Dimensional Flow with
16.15 Chemical Rate Equations 651 Heat Addition 716
16.16 Chemical Nonequilibrium in Table A.4 One-Dimensional Flow
High-Temperature Air 655 with Friction 721
16.17 Summary of Chemical Nonequilibrium 657 Table A.5 Prandtl–Meyer Function
and Mach Angle 726
16.18 Chapter Summary 657
 Problems 658
Appendix B
Chapter 17 An Illustration and Exercise of
High-Temperature Flows: Computational Fluid Dynamics 728
Basic Examples 661  he Equations 728
T
17.1 Introduction to Local Thermodynamic and Intermediate Numerical Results:
Chemical Equilibrium 663 The First Few Steps 741
17.2 Equilibrium Normal Shock Final Numerical Results:
Wave Flows 664 The Steady-State Solution 746
17.3 Equilibrium Quasi-One-Dimensional  ummary 757
S
Nozzle Flows 669 Isentropic Nozzle Flow—Subsonic∕Supersonic
17.4 Frozen and Equilibrium Flows: ­(Nonconservation Form) 757
Specific Heats 675
17.5 Equilibrium Speed of Sound 680
17.6 On the Use of γ = cp∕cv 684 Appendix C
17.7 Nonequilibrium Flows: Species Continuity Oblique Shock Properties: γ = 1.4 761
Equation 685
17.8 Rate Equation for Vibrationally References 763
Nonequilibrium Flow 688 Index 769
17.9 Summary of Governing Equations
for Nonequilibrium Flows 688
 PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION

T
he purpose of this book is to provide an understandable and enjoyable teach-
ing instrument in the classroom or independently for the study of compress-
ible fluid flow. It is intentionally written in a rather informal style to talk
to the reader, to gain his or her interest, and to keep the reader absorbed from
cover to cover. It is aimed primarily at the senior undergraduate and first-year
graduate student in aerospace, mechanical, and chemical engineering. However, it
is also written for use by the practicing engineer and scientist who is striving to
obtain a cohesive picture of the subject of compressible flow from a modern per-
spective. This book is meant to be read, not just used as a handbook to search for
the equation that will solve a given problem. Compressible flow is a beautiful
intellectual technical subject, and I believe that, like a masterwork painting made
up of an inestimable number of brushstrokes, every word in this book is like a
brushstroke in the whole canvas of compressible flow. Every word should be read
and thought about in order for the reader to truly appreciate the “masterpiece”
intellectual nature of this subject.
The response to the first three editions of this book from students, faculty, and
practicing professionals has been overwhelmingly favorable. Therefore, the fourth
edition carries over much of the fundamental content of the previous edition, plus
adding the following important components:
1. End-of-chapter problems have been added to those few chapters that
originally had no problems listed. Those particular chapters are heavily
theoretically based, and the original purpose was to allow the reader to
concentrate on absorbing the theoretical concepts without the additional
activity of problem solving. In this new edition, however, problems have
been added to these particular chapters in order to obtain a type of “full
closure” on understanding the material.
2. At the end of every chapter, and just before the list of problems, a “Sugges-
tions” section has been added. The purpose of these suggestions is to help
the reader better understand each end-of-chapter problem and to get started
on a right path for the solution of each problem (please note that for many
of the problems, there may be several “right paths”). Moreover, each of the
suggestions for problem solving helps to more strongly connect the reader
with the particular relevant physical and theoretical content in the text reading
material.
3. Chapter 15 on Hypersonic Flow has been expanded to recognize the greatly
increased interest and current activity in the hypersonic flight regime.
Hypersonic flow has many important physical and theoretical features that
distinguish it from basic supersonic flow, and these differences are highlighted

xiii
xiv Preface to the Fourth Edition

in Chap. 15. The author feels that the current new activity and interest in
the hypersonic flight regime will be long lasting, and Chap. 15 has been
expanded with new content and figures with such matters in mind. This
expansion is solidly in keeping with the title of this text, namely the
“modern” aspects of Modern Compressible Flow.
4. Continuing with the theme of “modern” that has permeated the previous
editions, this new edition maintains the content devoted to computational
fluid dynamics and high-temperature gas dynamics, two fields of intellectual
endeavor that are intrinsically woven into most modern applications of
compressible flow.
Taken in total, the book provides the twenty-first-century student with a balanced
treatment of both the classical and modern aspects of compressible flow.
Special thanks are given to various people who have been responsible for the
materialization of this fourth edition:
1. My students, as well as students and readers from all over the world, who
have responded so enthusiastically to the first three editions, and who have
provided the ultimate joy to the author of being an engineering educator.
2. My family, who provide the other ultimate joy of being a husband, father,
and grandfather.
3. My colleagues at the University of Maryland and the National Air and
Space Museum, and at many other academic and research institutions, as
well as industry, around the world who have helped to expand my horizons.
4. My editors at McGraw-Hill who have looked after me in the most profes-
sional, knowledgeable, understanding, and gentle manner possible.
Finally, compressible flow is an exciting subject—exciting to learn, exciting
to use, exciting to teach, and exciting to write about. The purpose of this book is
to excite the reader and to make the study of compressible flow an enjoyable
experience. So this author says—read on and enjoy.
John D. Anderson, Jr.
 C H A P T E R 1
Compressible Flow—Some
History and Introductory
Thoughts

It required an unhesitating boldness to undertake a venture so few thought could

succeed, an almost exuberant enthusiasm to carry across the many obstacles and
unknowns, but most of all a completely unprejudiced imagination in departing
so drastically from the known way.
J. van Lonkhuyzen, 1951, in discussing the problems faced in designing
the Bell XS-1, the first supersonic airplane

1
2 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts
PREVIEW BOX
Modern life is fast paced. We put a premium on moving
fast from one place to another. For long-distance travel,
flying is by far the fastest way to go. We fly in airplanes,
which today are the result of an exponential growth in
technology over the last 100 years. In 1930, airline pas-
sengers were lumbering along in the likes of the Fokker
trimoter (Fig. 1.1), which cruised at about 100 mi/h. In
this airplane, it took a total elapsed time of 36 hours to
fly from New York to Los Angeles, including 11 stops
along the way. By 1936, the new, streamlined Douglas
DC-3 (Fig. 1.2) was flying passengers at 180 mi/h, tak-
ing 17 hours and 40 minutes from New York to Los
­Angeles, making three stops along the way. By 1955,
the Douglas DC-7, the most advanced of the generation
of reciprocating engine/propeller-driven transports
­(Fig. 1.3), made the same trip in 8 hours with no stops.
However, this generation of airplane was quickly sup-
planted by the jet transport in 1958. Today, the modern
Boeing 777 (Fig. 1.4) whisks us from New York to Los
Angeles nonstop in about 5 hours, cruising at 0.83 the
speed of sound. This airplane is powered by advanced,
third-generation turbofan engines, such as the Pratt and
Whitney 4000 turbofan shown in Fig. 1.5, each capable
of producing up to 84,000 pounds of thrust.
Modern high-speed airplanes and the jet engines
that power them are wonderful examples of the applica-
tion of a branch of fluid dynamics called compressible
flow. Indeed, look again at the Boeing 777 shown in
Fig. 1.4 and the turbofan engine shown in Fig. 1.5—they
are compressible flow personified. The principles of
compressible flow dictate the external aerodynamic
flow over the airplane. The internal flow through the
­turbofan—the inlet, compressor, combustion chamber,
turbine, nozzle, and the fan—is all compressible flow.
Indeed, jet engines are one of the best examples in mod-
ern technology of compressible flow machines.
Today we can transport ourselves at speeds faster
than sound—supersonic speeds. The Anglo-French
Concorde supersonic transport (Fig. 1.6) was such a ve-
hicle. (Several years ago I had the opportunity to cross
the A
­ tlantic Ocean in the Concorde, taking off from
New York’s Kennedy Airport and arriving at London’s
Heathrow Airport just 3 hours and 15 minutes later—
what a way to travel!) Supersonic flight is accompanied
by shock waves generated in the air around the vehicle.
Shock waves are an important aspect of compressible
flow—they occur in almost all practical situations where
supersonic flow exists. In this book, you will learn a lot
about shock waves. When the Concorde flew overhead
at supersonic speeds, a “sonic boom” was heard by those
of us on the earth’s surface. The sonic boom is a result
of the shock waves emanating from the supersonic ve-
hicle. The environmental impact of the sonic boom lim-
ited the Concorde to supersonic speeds only over water.
However, modern research is striving to find a way to
design a “quiet” supersonic airplane. Perhaps some of
the readers of this book will help to unlock such secrets
in the future—maybe even pioneering the advent of
practical hypersonic airplanes (more than five times the
speed of sound). In my opinion, the future applications
of compressible flow are boundless.
Compressible flow is the subject of this book.
Within these pages you will discover the intellectual
beauty and the powerful applications of compressible
flow. You will learn to appreciate why modern airplanes
are shaped the way they are, and to marvel at the won-
derfully complex and interesting flow processes through
a jet engine. You will learn about supersonic shock
waves, and why in most cases we would like to do with-
out them if we could. You will learn much more. You
will learn the fundamental physical and mathematical
aspects of compressible flow, which you can apply to
any flow situation where the flow speeds exceed that of
about 0.3 the speed of sound. In the modern world of
aerospace and mechanical engineering, an understand-
ing of the principles of compressible flow is essential.
The purpose of this book is to help you learn, under-
stand, and appreciate these fundamental principles,
while at the same time giving you some insight as to
how compressible flow is practiced in the modern engi-
neering world (hence the word “modern” in the title of
this book).
Compressible flow is a fun subject. This book is
designed to convey this feeling. The format of the book
and its conversational style are intended to provide a
smooth and intelligible learning process. To help this,
each chapter begins with a preview box and road map to
help you see the bigger picture, and to navigate around
 Preview Box 3

63′3″

49′2″

Figure 1.1 | Fokker Trimoter airliner, from the late 1920s.

(continued on next page)
4 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

(continued from page 3) 26′8″

95′

18′6″

64′5 12″

Figure 1.2 | Douglas DC-3 Airliner, from the middle 1930s.

 Preview Box 5

Figure 1.3 | Douglas DC-7 airliner, from the middle 1950s.

Figure 1.4 | Boeing 777 jet airliner, from the 1990s.

(continued on next page)

6 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

(continued from page 5)

Figure 1.5 | Pratt and Whitney 4000 turbofan engine. Third-generation turbofan
for widebody transports. Produces up to 84,000 lb (329.2 kN) of thrust. Powers
some versions of the Boeing 777 (see Fig. 1.4).

Figure 1.6 | The Anglo-French Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde supersonic airliner.

 Preview Box 7

some of the mathematical and physical details that are
buried in the chapter. The road map for the entire book
is given in Fig. 1.7. To help keep our equilibrium, we
will periodically refer to Fig. 1.7 as we progress through
the book. For now, let us just survey Fig. 1.7 for some
general guidance. After an introduction to the subject
and a brief review of thermodynamics (box 1 in Fig. 1.7),
we derive the governing fundamental conservation
equations (box 2). We first obtain these equations in in-
tegral form (box 3), which some people will argue is
philosophically a more fundamental form of the equations
than the differential form obtained later in box 7. Using
just the integral form of the conservation equations, we
will study one-dimensional flow (box 4), including nor-
mal shock waves, oblique shock, and expansion waves
(box 5), and the quasi-one-dimensional flow through
nozzles and diffusers, with applications to wind tunnels
and rocket engines (box 6). All of these subjects can
be studied by application of the integral form of the
­conservation equations, which usually reduce to alge-
braic equations for the application listed in boxes 4–6.
Boxes 1–6 frequently constitute a basic “first course” in

COMPRESSIBLE FLOW
17. High-temperature flows
1. What it is, and how it blends
with thermodynamics

2. The governing conservation

equations

3. In integral form 7. In differential form

4. One-dimensional flow
Normal shock waves
Flow with heat addition
Flow with friction
5. Oblique waves
8. Velocity potential equation
10. Unsteady moving shock
and expansion waves
9. Linearized flow
11. Conical flow
Subsonic flow
Supersonic flow
12. Numerical techniques for
steady supersonic flow

Oblique shock waves Method of characteristics

Expansion waves Finite difference methods
Wave interactions 13. Time-marching numerical
technique
6. Quasi-one-dimensional flow
Flow around blunt bodies
Two-dimensional nozzle flows
Nozzles
Diffusers 14. Three-dimensional flows
Wind tunnels
and rocket engines
15. Transonic flow

16. Hypersonic flow

Figure 1.7 | Road map for the book.

(continued on next page)
8 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts
(continued from page 7)
c­ ompressible flow, and the mathematics usually does
not go beyond that of algebra. However, to deal with
unsteady and/or multidimensional flows, we have to
step to box 7 and obtain the governing conservation
equations in differential form. They take the form of a
system of coupled, highly nonlinear, partial differential
equations. In some special cases for subsonic and super-
sonic flows, they can be linearized (boxes 8 and 9), lead-
ing to so-called “linearized flow.” However, in most
cases, we must cope with the nonlinear equations. The
way we do this, and the fascinating physical phenomena
we discover along the way, is told in boxes 10–16 deal-
ing with unsteady flow, flow over cones, flows over
­supersonic blunt-nosed bodies, three-dimensional flows
over bodies at an angle of attack to a uniform free
stream, and the very special characteristics of transonic
and hypersonic flows.
Our treatment of the material covered in boxes 4–6
and 8–16 in Fig. 1.7 assumes the gas to be calorically
perfect, i.e., to have constant values of specific heats.
This is valid as long as the temperature in the flow does
not exceed about 1000 K. The vast bulk of compressible
flow applications satisfy this criterion, including the
flow around the Concorde when it was cruising at Mach
2. However, the flow over higher speed vehicles, as well
as the flow through parts of a jet engine, will encounter
temperatures high enough that the assumption of a calo-
rically perfect gas is not valid. Witness the flow over
parts of the Space Shuttle as it entered the atmosphere
at Mach 25, where flow temperatures were as high as
8000 K, and the flow through rocket engines where tem-
peratures on the order of 4000 K or higher occur in the
combustion chamber. At these temperatures, the flow is
chemically reacting, and the analysis of compressible
flow applications at these conditions must include the
appropriate physical-chemical effects. Hence, to round
out our study of compressible flow, toward the end of
this book we identify, discuss, and analyze these high-
temperature flow effects. This subject is somewhat
­self-contained and is relatively independent of the ear-
lier chapters; for this reason in Fig. 1.7 we show high-­
temperature flows in box 17 in an adjunct position
somewhat separate from the main structure. However,
this is not to minimize its importance. In many high-
speed flow applications today, high-temperature effects
are very important. Any study of modern compressible
flow must include box 17.
We note that all of the material in this book, boxes
1–17 in Fig. 1.7, assumes inviscid flow, i.e., flow with
no friction, thermal conduction, or mass diffusion, ex-
cept for the special case of one-dimensional flow with
friction (box 4 in Fig. 1.7). Flows where the dissipative
transport processes of friction, thermal conduction, and
mass diffusion are important are called viscous flows.
Viscous flow is a subject all by itself and is beyond the
scope of this book. The assumption of inviscid flow may
at first sound ideal and restrictive—flows in the real
world are not so ideal. However, the important physics
that dictates compressible flow, such as the propagation
of pressure waves through the flow, is essentially an
­inviscid phenomenon. Moreover, for the vast majority
of compressible flow applications, the influence of the
dissipative transport phenomena is limited to small
regions, such as the boundary layer along a solid surface.
Hence, the inviscid flows treated in this book are indeed
very practical and apply to a vast majority of everyday
applications of compressible flow.
All of this constitutes a preview for the material that
is covered in this book—a broad, general view to give
you a better, almost philosophical feeling for what com-
pressible flow is about. As we continue, each ­chapter has
its own preview box in order to enhance a broader under-
standing of the material in the chapter and to relate it to
the general view. In this fashion, the detailed material in
each chapter will more readily come to life for you.
In regard to the present chapter, we start out with
some historical high-water marks in the application of
compressible flow, and then discuss some introductory
thoughts that are essential for our understanding of com-
pressible flow in the subsequent chapters. For example, in
this chapter we give a brief review of thermodynamics—
but only those aspects of thermodynamics that relate di-
rectly to our subsequent discussions. Compressible flows
are usually high-energy flows. Imagine that you are driv­
ing down the highway at 65 mph, and you stick your hand
out of the window; your hand will literally feel the en-
ergy of the 65-mph airstream, and it feels impressive. But
65 mph is really a low velocity in the scheme of com-
pressible flow applications. Rather, imagine the energy
you would feel if you were traveling at 650 mph, near the
speed of sound, and you stick your hand out of the window
(definitely not recommended). You would feel a lot of
­en­ergy in the flow. High-speed flows are high-­energy flows.
Thermodynamics is the study of energy changes and their
 1.1 Historical High-Water Marks 9

effects on the properties of a system. Hence, compressible
flow embraces thermodynamics. I know of no compress-
ible flow problem that can be understood and solved
without involving some aspect of thermodynamics. So
that is why we start out with a review of thermodynamics.
The remainder of this chapter simply deals with
other introductory thoughts necessary to provide you
with smooth sailing through the rest of the book. I wish
you a pleasant voyage.

1.1 | HISTORICAL HIGH-WATER MARKS

The year is 1893. In Chicago, the World Columbian Exposition has been opened
by President Grover Cleveland. During the year, more than 27 million people visit
the 666-acre expanse of gleaming white buildings, specially constructed from a
composite of plaster of paris and jute fiber to simulate white marble. Located
adjacent to the newly endowed University of Chicago, the Exposition commemo-
rates the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus 400 years earlier. Exhibi-
tions related to engineering, architecture, and domestic and liberal arts, as well as
collections of all modes of transportation, are scattered over 150 buildings. In the
largest, the Manufacturer’s and Liberal Arts Building, engineering exhibits from
all over the world herald the rapid advance of technology that will soon reach
explosive proportions in the twentieth century. Almost lost in this massive 31-acre
building, under a roof of iron and glass, is a small machine of great importance.
A single-stage steam turbine is being displayed by the Swedish engineer Carl G. P.
de Laval. The machine is less than 6 ft long; designed for marine use, it has two
independent turbine wheels, one for forward motion and the other for the reverse
direction. But what is novel about this device is that the turbine blades are driven
by a stream of hot, high-pressure steam from a series of unique convergent–diver-
gent nozzles. As sketched in Fig. 1.8, these nozzles, with their convergent–diver-
gent shape representing a complete departure from previous engineering applications,
feed a high-speed flow of steam to the blades of the turbine wheel. The deflection
and consequent change in momentum of the steam as it flows past the turbine
blades exerts an impulse that rotates the wheel to speeds previously unattainable—
over 30,000 r/min. Little does de Laval ­realize that his convergent–divergent steam
nozzle will open the door to the supersonic wind tunnels and rocket engines of the
mid-twentieth century.
The year is now 1947. The morning of October 14 dawns bright and beautiful
over the Muroc Dry Lake, a large expanse of flat, hard lake bed in the Mojave
Desert in California. Beginning at 6:00 a.m., teams of engineers and technicians
at the Muroc Army Air Field ready a small rocket-powered airplane for flight.
Painted ­orange and resembling a 50-caliber machine gun bullet mated to a pair of
straight, stubby wings, the Bell XS-1 research vehicle is carefully installed in the
bomb bay of a four-engine B-29 bomber of World War II vintage. At 10:00 a.m.
the B-29 with its soon-to-be-historic cargo takes off and climbs to an altitude of
20,000 ft. In the cockpit of the XS-1 is Captain Charles (Chuck) Yeager, a veteran
P-51 pilot from the European theater during the war. This morning Yeager is in
pain from two broken ribs incurred during a horseback riding accident the previous
weekend. However, not wishing to disrupt the events of the day, Yeager informs
10 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

Figure 1.8 | Schematic of de Laval’s

turbine incorporating a convergent–
divergent nozzle.

no one at Muroc about his condition. At 10:26 a.m., at a speed of 250 mi/h
(112 m/s), the brightly painted XS-1 drops free from the bomb bay of the B-29.
Yeager fires his Reaction Motors XLR-11 rocket engine and, powered by 6000 lb
of thrust, the sleek airplane accelerates and climbs rapidly. Trailing an exhaust jet
of shock diamonds from the four convergent–divergent rocket nozzles of the
engine, the XS-1 is soon flying faster than Mach 0.85, that speed beyond which
there are no wind tunnel data on the problems of transonic flight in 1947. Entering
this unknown regime, Yeager momentarily shuts down two of the four rocket
chambers, and carefully tests the controls of the XS-1 as the Mach meter in the
cockpit registers 0.95 and still increasing. Small shock waves are now dancing
back and forth over the top surface of the wings. At an altitude of 40,000 ft, the
XS-1 finally starts to level off, and Yeager fires one of the two shutdown rocket
chambers. The Mach meter moves smoothly through 0.98, 0.99, to 1.02. Here, the
meter hesitates, then jumps to 1.06. A stronger bow shock wave is now formed in
the air ahead of the needlelike nose of the XS-1 as Yeager reaches a velocity of
700 mi/h, Mach 1.06, at 43,000 ft. The flight is smooth; there is no violent buffeting
of the airplane and no loss of control, as was feared by some engineers. At this
moment, Chuck Yeager becomes the first pilot to successfully fly faster than the
speed of sound, and the small but beautiful Bell XS-1, shown in Fig. 1.9, becomes
the first successful supersonic airplane in the history of flight. (For more details,
see Refs. 1 and 2 listed at the back of this book.)
Today, both de Laval’s 10-hp turbine from the World Columbian Exhibition
and the orange Bell XS-1 are part of the collection of the Smithsonian Institution
of Washington, D.C., the former on display in the History of Technology Building
 1.1 Historical High-Water Marks 11

Figure 1.9 | The Bell XS-1, first manned supersonic aircraft.

Source: NASA

and the latter hanging with distinction from the roof of the National Air and Space
­Museum. What these two machines have in common is that, separated by more
than half a century, they represent high-water marks in the engineering application
of the principles of compressible flow—where the density of the flow is not con-
stant. In both cases they represent marked departures from previous fluid dynamic
practice and ­experience.
The engineering fluid dynamic problems of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early
twentieth centuries almost always involved either the flow of liquids or the low-
speed flow of gases; for both cases the assumption of constant density is quite valid.
Hence, the familiar Bernoulli’s equation
p + 12 ρV 2 = const(1.1)
was invariably employed with success. However, with the advent of high-speed
flows, exemplified by de Laval’s convergent–divergent nozzle design and the super-
sonic flight of the Bell XS-1, the density can no longer be assumed constant
throughout the flowfield. Indeed, for such flows the density can sometimes vary by
orders of magnitude. Consequently, Eq. (1.1) no longer holds. In this light, such
events were indeed a marked departure from previous experience in fluid dynamics.
This book deals exclusively with that “marked departure,” i.e., it deals with
compressible flows, in which the density is not constant. In modern engineering
­applications, such flows are the rule rather than the exception. A few important
­examples are the internal flows through rocket and gas turbine engines, high-speed
subsonic, transonic, supersonic, and hypersonic wind tunnels, the external flow
over modern airplanes designed to cruise faster than 0.3 of the speed of sound,
and the flow inside the common internal combustion reciprocating engine.
12 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

The purpose of this book is to develop the fundamental concepts of compressible

flow, and to illustrate their use.

1.2 | DEFINITION OF COMPRESSIBLE FLOW

Compressible flow is routinely defined as variable density flow; this is in contrast
to incompressible flow, where the density is assumed to be constant throughout.
Obviously, in real life every flow of every fluid is compressible to some greater
or lesser extent; hence, a truly constant density (incompressible) flow is a myth.
However, as previously mentioned, for almost all liquid flows as well as for the
flows of some gases under certain conditions, the density changes are so small that
the assumption of constant density can be made with reasonable accuracy. In such
cases, Bernoulli’s equation, Eq. (1.1), can be applied with confidence. However,
for the subject of this book—compressible flow—Eq. (1.1) does not hold, and for
our purposes here, the reader should dismiss it from his or her thinking.
The simple definition of compressible flow as one in which the density is vari-
able requires more elaboration. Consider a small element of fluid of volume v. The
pressure exerted on the sides of the element by the neighboring fluid is p. Assume
the pressure is now increased by an infinitesimal amount dp. The volume of the
element will be correspondingly compressed by the amount dv. Since the volume is
reduced, dv is a negative quantity. The compressibility of the fluid, τ, is defined as
1 dv
τ=− (1.2)
v dp
Physically, the compressibility is the fractional change in volume of the fluid ele-
ment per unit change in pressure. However, Eq. (1.2) is not sufficiently precise.
We know from experience that when a gas is compressed (say in a bicycle pump),
its temperature tends to increase, depending on the amount of heat transferred into
or out of the gas through the boundaries of the system. Therefore, if the tempera-
ture of the fluid element is held constant (due to some heat transfer mechanism),
then the isothermal compressibility is defined as

τT = − ( ) (1.3)
1 ∂v
v ∂p T
On the other hand, if no heat is added to or taken away from the fluid element (if
the compression is adiabatic), and if no other dissipative transport mechanisms such
as viscosity and diffusion are important (if the compression is reversible), then the
compression of the fluid element takes place isentropically, and the isentropic com-
pressibility is defined as

τs = − ( ) (1.4)
1 ∂v
v ∂p s
where the subscript s denotes that the partial derivative is taken at constant entropy.
Compressibility is a property of the fluid. Liquids have very low values of
­compressibility (τT for water is 5 × 10–10 m2/N at 1 atm) whereas gases have
 1.2 Definition of Compressible Flow 13

high ­compressibilities (τT for air is 10–5 m2/N at 1 atm, more than four orders of
magnitude larger than water). If the fluid element is assumed to have unit mass, v
is the specific volume (volume per unit mass), and the density is ρ = 1/v. In terms
of density, Eq. (1.2) becomes
1 dρ
τ= (1.5)
ρ dp
Therefore, whenever the fluid experiences a change in pressure, dp, the correspond-
ing change in density will be dρ, where from Eq. (1.5)
dρ = ρτ dp(1.6)
To this point, we have considered just the fluid itself, with compressibility
being a property of the fluid. Now assume that the fluid is in motion. Such flows
are initiated and maintained by forces on the fluid, usually created by, or at least
accompanied by, changes in the pressure. In particular, we shall see that high-
speed flows gene­rally involve large pressure gradients. For a given change in
pressure, dp, due to the flow, Eq. (1.6) demonstrates that the resulting change in
density will be small for liquids (which have low values of τ), and large for gases
(which have high values of τ). Therefore, for the flow of liquids, relatively large
pressure gradients can create high velocities without much change in density.
Hence, such flows are usually assumed to be incompressible, where ρ is constant.
On the other hand, for the flow of gases with their attendant large values of τ,
moderate to strong pressure gradients lead to substantial changes in the density
via Eq. (1.6). At the same time, such pressure gradients create large velocity
changes in the gas. Such flows are defined as compressible flows, where ρ is a
variable.
We shall prove later that for gas velocities less than about 0.3 of the speed of
sound, the associated pressure changes are small, and even though τ is large for
gases, dp in Eq. (1.6) may still be small enough to dictate a small dρ. For this
reason, the low-speed flow of gases can be assumed to be incompressible. For
example, the flight velocities of most airplanes from the time of the Wright broth-
ers in 1903 to the beginning of World War II in 1939 were generally less than
250 mi/h (112 m/s), which is less than 0.3 of the speed of sound. As a result, the
bulk of early aerodynamic literature treats incompressible flow. On the other hand,
flow velocities higher than 0.3 of the speed of sound are associated with relatively
large pressure changes, accompanied by correspondingly large changes in density.
Hence, compressibility effects on airplane aerodynamics have been important since
the advent of high-­performance aircraft in the 1940s. Indeed, for the modern high-
speed subsonic and supersonic aircraft of today, the older incompressible theories
are wholly inadequate, and compressible flow analyses must be used.
In summary, in this book a compressible flow will be considered as one where
the change in pressure, dp, over a characteristic length of the flow, multiplied by
the compressibility via Eq. (1.6), results in a fractional change in density, dρ∕ρ,
which is too large to be ignored. For most practical problems, if the density changes
by 5 percent or more, the flow is considered to be compressible.
14 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

EXAMPLE 1.1

Consider the low-speed flow of air over an airplane wing at standard sea level conditions;
the free-stream velocity far ahead of the wing is 100 mi/h. The flow accelerates over the
wing, reaching a maximum velocity of 150 mi/h at some point on the wing. What is the
percentage pressure change between this point and the free stream?
■ Solution
Since the airspeeds are relatively low, let us (for the first and only time in this book) assume
incompressible flow, and use Bernoulli’s equation for this problem. (See Ref. 1 for an
elementary discussion of Bernoulli’s equation, as well as Ref. 104 for a more detailed pre-
sentation of the role of this equation in the solution of incompressible flow. Here, we assume
that the reader is familiar with Bernoulli’s equation—its use and its limitations. If not,
examine carefully the appropriate discussions in Refs. 1 and 104.) Let points 1 and 2 denote
the free stream and wing points, respectively. Then, from Bernoulli’s equation,

p1 + 12 ρ V1 2 = p2 + 12 ρ V2 2
or p1 − p2 = 12 ρ ( V2 2 − V1 2 )

At standard sea level, ρ = 0.002377 slug/ft3. Also, using the handy conversion that 60 mi/h
= 88 ft/s, we have V1 = 100 mi/h = 147 ft/s and V2 = 150 mi/h = 220 ft/s. (Note that, as
­always in this book, we will use consistent units; for example, we will use either the English
Engineering System, as in this problem, or the International System. See the footnote in
Sec. 1.4 of this book, as well as Chap. 2 of Ref. 1. By using consistent units, none of our
basic equations will ever contain conversion factors, such as qc and J, as is found in some
references.) With this information, we have
p1 − p2 = 12 ρ ( V2 2 − V1 2 )
= 12 (0.002377) [ (220) 2 − (147) 2 ] = 31.8 lb/ft2

The fractional change in pressure referenced to the free-stream pressure, which at standard
sea level is p1 = 2116 lb/ft2, is obtained as
p 1 − p2 31.8
= = 0.015
p1 2116
Therefore, the percentage change in pressure is 1.5 percent. In expanding over the wing surface,
the pressure changes by only 1.5 percent. This is a case where, in Eq. (1.6), dp is small, and
hence dρ is small. The purpose of this example is to demonstrate that, in low-speed flow prob-
lems, the percentage change in pressure is always small, and this, through Eq. (1.6), justifies the
assumption of incompressible flow (dρ = 0) for such flows. However, at high-flow velocities,
the change in pressure is not small, and the density must be treated as variable. This is the regime
of compressible flow—the subject of this book. Note: Bernoulli’s equation used in this example
is good only for incompressible flow; therefore, it will not appear again in any of our subsequent
discussions. Experience has shown that, because it is one of the first ­equations usually encoun-
tered by students in the study of fluid dynamics, there is a tendency to use Bernoulli’s equation
for situations where it is not valid. Compressible flow is one such situation. Therefore, for our
subsequent discussions in this book, remember never to invoke Bernoulli’s equation.
 1.3 Flow Regimes 15

1.3 | FLOW REGIMES

The age of successful manned flight began on December 17, 1903, when Orville
and Wilbur Wright took to the air in their historic Flyer I, and soared over the
windswept sand dunes of Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina. This age has contin-
ued to the present with modern, high-performance subsonic and supersonic air-
planes, as well as the hypersonic atmospheric entry of space vehicles. In the
twentieth century, manned flight has been a major impetus for the advancement of
fluid dynamics in general, and compressible flow in particular. Hence, although
the fundamentals of compressible flow are applied to a whole spectrum of modern
engineering problems, their ­application to aerodynamics and propulsion geared to
airplanes and missiles is frequently encountered.
In this vein, it is useful to illustrate different regimes of compressible flow by
considering an aerodynamic body in a flowing gas, as sketched in Fig. 1.10. First,
consider some definitions. Far upstream of the body, the flow is uniform with a
free-stream velocity of V∞. A streamline is a curve in the flowfield that is tangent
to the local velocity vector V at every point along the curve. Figure 1.10 illustrates
only a few of the infinite number of streamlines around a body. Consider an arbi-
trary point in the flowfield, where p, T, ρ, and V are the local pressure, temperature,
density, and vector velocity at that point, respectively. All of these quantities are
point properties and vary from one point to another in the flow. In Chap. 3, we
will show the speed of sound a to be a thermodynamic property of the gas; hence,
a also varies from point to point in the flow. If a∞ is the speed of sound in the
uniform free stream, then the ratio V∞∕a∞ defines the free-stream Mach number
M∞. Similarly, the local Mach number M is defined as M = V∕a, and varies from
point to point in the flowfield. Further physical significance of Mach number will
be discussed in Chap. 3. In the present section, M simply will be used to define
four different flow regimes in fluid dynamics, as discussed next.

1.3.1 Subsonic Flow

Consider the flow over an airfoil section as sketched in Fig. 1.10a. Here, the local
Mach number is everywhere less than unity. Such a flow, where M < 1 at every
point, and hence, the flow velocity is everywhere less than the speed of sound, is
­defined as subsonic flow. This flow is characterized by smooth streamlines and
continuously varying properties. Note that the initially straight and parallel stream-
lines in the free stream begin to deflect far upstream of the body, i.e., the flow is
forewarned of the presence of the body. This is an important property of subsonic
flow and will be discussed further in Chap. 4. Also, as the flow passes over the
airfoil, the local velocity and Mach number on the top surface increase above
their free-stream values. However, if M∞ is sufficiently less than 1, the local
Mach number everywhere will remain subsonic. For airfoils in common use, if
M∞ ≤ 0.8, the flowfield is generally completely subsonic. Therefore, to the airplane
aerodynamicist, the subsonic regime is loosely identified with a free stream where
M∞ ≤ 0.8.
16 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

Figure 1.10 | Illustration of different regimes of flow.

 1.3 Flow Regimes 17

1.3.2 Transonic Flow

If M∞ remains subsonic, but is sufficiently near 1, the flow expansion over the
top surface of the airfoil may result in locally supersonic regions, as sketched in
Fig. 1.10b. Such a mixed region flow is defined as transonic flow. In Fig. 1.10b,
M∞ is less than 1 but high enough to produce a pocket of locally supersonic flow.
In most cases, as sketched in Fig. 1.10b, this pocket terminates with a shock wave
across which there is a discontinuous and sometimes rather severe change in flow
properties. Shock waves will be discussed in Chap. 4. If M∞ is increased to slightly
above unity, this shock pattern will move to the trailing edge of the airfoil, and a
second shock wave appears upstream of the leading edge. This second shock wave
is called the bow shock, and is sketched in Fig. 1.10c. (Referring to Sec. 1.1, this
is the type of flow pattern existing around the wing of the Bell XS-1 at the moment
it was “breaking the sound barrier” at M∞ = 1.06.) In front of the bow shock, the
streamlines are straight and parallel, with a uniform supersonic free-stream Mach
number. In passing through that part of the bow shock that is nearly normal to the
free stream, the flow becomes subsonic. However, an extensive supersonic region
again forms as the flow expands over the airfoil surface, and again terminates with
a trailing-edge shock. Both flow patterns sketched in Figs. 1.10b and c are char-
acterized by mixed regions of locally subsonic and supersonic flow. Such mixed
flows are defined as transonic flows, and 0.8 ≤ M∞ ≤ 1.2 is loosely defined as the
transonic regime. Transonic flow is discussed at length in Chap. 14.

1.3.3 Supersonic Flow

A flowfield where M > 1 everywhere is defined as supersonic. Consider the super-
sonic flow over the wedge-shaped body in Fig. 1.10d. A straight, oblique shock
wave is attached to the sharp nose of the wedge. Across this shock wave, the
streamline direction changes discontinuously. Ahead of the shock, the streamlines
are straight, parallel, and horizontal; behind the shock they remain straight and
parallel but in the direction of the wedge surface. Unlike the subsonic flow in
Fig. 1.10a, the supersonic uniform free stream is not forewarned of the presence
of the body until the shock wave is encountered. The flow is supersonic both
upstream and (usually, but not a­lways) downstream of the oblique shock wave.
There are dramatic physical and mathematical differences between subsonic and
supersonic flows, as will be discussed in subsequent chapters.

1.3.4 Hypersonic Flow

The temperature, pressure, and density of the flow increase almost explosively
across the shock wave shown in Fig. 1.10d. As M∞ is increased to higher super-
sonic speeds, these increases become more severe. At the same time, the oblique
shock wave moves closer to the surface, as sketched in Fig. 1.10e. For values of
M∞ > 5, the shock wave is very close to the surface, and the flowfield between
the shock and the body (the shock layer) becomes very hot—indeed, hot enough
to dissociate or even ionize the gas. Aspects of such high-temperature chemically
18 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

reacting flows are discussed in Chaps. 16 and 17. These effects—thin shock layers
and hot, chemically reacting gases—add complexity to the analysis of such flows.
For this reason, the flow regime for M∞ > 5 is given a special label—hypersonic
flow. The choice of M∞ = 5 as a dividing point between supersonic and hypersonic
flows is a rule of thumb. In reality, the special characteristics associated with
hypersonic flow appear gradually as M∞ is increased, and the Mach number at
which they become important depends greatly on the shape of the body and the
free-stream density. Hypersonic flow is the subject of Chap. 15.
It is interesting to note that incompressible flow is a special case of subsonic
flow; namely, it is the limiting case where M∞ → 0. Since M∞ = V∞   /̸a∞, we have
two possibilities:
M∞ → 0 because V∞ → 0
M∞ → 0 because a∞ → ∞
The former corresponds to no flow and is trivial. The latter states that the speed
of sound in a truly incompressible flow would have to be infinitely large. This is
compatible with Eq. (1.6), which states that, for a truly incompressible flow where
dρ = 0, τ must be zero, i.e., zero compressibility. We shall see in Chap. 3 that the
speed of sound is inversely proportional to the square root of τ; hence, τ = 0
implies an infinite speed of sound.
There are other ways of classifying flowfields. For example, flows where the
effects of viscosity, thermal conduction, and mass diffusion are important are called
viscous flows. Such phenomena are dissipative effects that change the entropy of
the flow and are important in regions of large gradients of velocity, temperature,
and chemical composition. Examples are boundary layer flows, flow in long pipes,
and the thin shock layer on high-altitude hypersonic vehicles. Friction drag, flow-
field separation, and heat transfer all involve viscous effects. Therefore, viscous
flows are of major importance in the study of fluid dynamics. In contrast, flows in
which viscosity, thermal conduction, and diffusion are ignored are called inviscid
flows. At first glance, the assumption of inviscid flows may appear highly restric-
tive; however, there are a number of important applications that do not involve
flows with large gradients, and that readily can be assumed to be inviscid. Examples
are the large regions of flow over wings and bodies outside the thin boundary layer
on the surface, flow through wind tunnels and rocket engine nozzles, and the flow
over compressor and turbine blades for jet engines. Surface pressure distributions,
as well as aerodynamic lift and moments on some bodies, can be accurately obtained
by means of the assumption of inviscid flow. In this book, viscous effects will not
be treated except in regard to their role in forming the internal structure and thick-
ness of shock waves. That is, this book deals with compressible, inviscid flows.
Finally, we will always consider the gas to be a continuum. Clearly, a gas is
composed of a large number of discrete atoms and/or molecules, all moving in a more
or less random fashion, and frequently colliding with each other. This microscopic
­picture of a gas is essential to the understanding of the thermodynamic and chemical
properties of a high-temperature gas, as described in Chaps. 16 and 17. However,
in deriving the fundamental equations and concepts for fluid flows, we take advantage
 1.4 A Brief Review of Thermodynamics 19

of the fact that a gas usually contains a large number of molecules (over 2 × 1019
molecules/cm3 for air at normal room conditions), and hence on a macroscopic basis,
the fluid behaves as if it were a continuous material. This continuum assumption is
violated only when the mean distance an atom or molecule moves between collisions
(the mean free path) is so large that it is the same order of magnitude as the char-
acteristic dimension of the flow. This implies low density, or rarefied flow. The
extreme situation, where the mean free path is much larger than the characteristic
length and where virtually no molecular collisions take place in the flow, is called
free-molecular flow. In this case, the flow is essentially a stream of remotely spaced
particles. ­Low-density and free-molecular flows are rather special cases in the whole
spectrum of fluid dynamics, occurring in flight only at very high altitudes (above
200,000 ft), and in special laboratory devices such as electron beams and low-
pressure gas lasers. Such rarefied gas effects are beyond the scope of this book.

1.4 | A BRIEF REVIEW OF THERMODYNAMICS

The kinetic energy per unit mass, V2∕2, of a high-speed flow is large. As the flow
moves over solid bodies or through ducts such as nozzles and diffusers, the local
­velocity, hence local kinetic energy, changes. In contrast to low-speed or incom-
pressible flow, these energy changes are substantial enough to strongly interact
with other properties of the flow. Because in most cases high-speed flow and
compressible flow are synonymous, energy concepts play a major role in the study
and understanding of compressible flow. In turn, the science of energy (and
entropy) is thermodynamics; consequently, thermodynamics is an essential ingredi-
ent in the study of compressible flow.
This section gives a brief outline of thermodynamic concepts and relations
necessary to our further discussions. This is in no way an exposition on thermo-
dynamics; rather it is a review of only those fundamental ideas and equations which
will be of direct use in subsequent chapters.

1.4.1 Perfect Gas

A gas is a collection of particles (molecules, atoms, ions, electrons, etc.) that are
in more or less random motion. Due to the electronic structure of these particles,
a force field pervades the space around them. The force field due to one particle
reaches out and interacts with neighboring particles, and vice versa. Hence, these
fields are called intermolecular forces. The intermolecular force varies with dis-
tance between particles; for most atoms and molecules it takes the form of a weak
attractive force at large distance, changing quickly to a strong repelling force at
close distance. In general, these intermolecular forces influence the motion of the
particles; hence, they also influence the thermodynamic properties of the gas,
which are nothing more than the macroscopic ramification of the particle motion.
At the temperatures and pressures characteristic of many compressible flow
­applications, the gas particles are, on the average, widely separated. The average
­distance between particles is usually more than 10 molecular diameters, which
20 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

c­orresponds to a very weak attractive force. As a result, for a large number of

engineering applications, the effect of intermolecular forces on the gas properties
is negligible. By definition, a perfect gas is one in which intermolecular forces
are ­neglected. By ignoring intermolecular forces, the equation of state for a perfect
gas can be derived from the theoretical concepts of modern statistical mechanics
or kinetic theory. However, historically, it was first synthesized from laboratory
measurements by Robert Boyle in the seventeenth century, Jacques Charles in the
eighteenth century, and Joseph Gay-Lussac and John Dalton around 1800. The
empirical result which unfolded from these observations was
p𝒱 = MRT(1.7)
where p is pressure (N/m2 or lb/ft2), 𝒱 is the volume of the system (m3 or ft3),
M is the mass of the system (kg or slug), R is the specific gas constant [J/(kg · K)
or (ft · lb)/(slug · °R)], which is a different value for different gases, and T is the
temperature (K or °R).† This equation of state can be written in many forms, most
of which are summarized here for the reader’s convenience. For example, if
Eq. (1.7) is ­divided by the mass of the system,

pv = RT (1.8)
where v is the specific volume (m3/kg or ft3/slug). Since the density ρ = 1∕v,
Eq. (1.8) becomes

p = ρRT (1.9)
Along another track that is particularly useful in chemically reacting systems,
the early fundamental empirical observations also led to a form for the equation
of state:
p𝒱 = 𝒩ℛT(1.10)
where 𝒩 is the number of moles of gas in the system, and ℛ is the universal gas
constant, which is the same for all gases. Recall that a mole of a substance is that
amount which contains a mass numerically equal to the molecular weight of the
gas, and which is identified with the particular system of units being used, i.e., a
­kilogram-mole (kg · mol) or a slug-mole (slug · mol). For example, for pure
diatomic oxygen (O2), 1 kg · mol has a mass of 32 kg, whereas 1 slug · mol has
a mass of 32 slug. ­Because the masses of different molecules are in the same ratio
as their molecular weights, 1 mol of different gases always contains the same
number of molecules, i.e., 1 kg · mol always contains 6.02 × 1026 molecules,
independent of the species of the gas. Continuing with Eq. (1.10), dividing by the
number of moles of the system yields

†
Two sets of consistent units will be used throughout this book, the International System (SI) and the
English Engineering System. In the SI system, the units of force, mass, length, time, and temperature
are the newton (N), kilogram (kg), meter (m), second (s), and Kelvin (K), respectively; in the English
Engineering System they are the pound (lb), slug, foot (ft), second (s), and Rankine (°R), respectively.
The respective units of energy are joules (J) and foot-pounds (ft · lb).
 1.4 A Brief Review of Thermodynamics 21

p𝒱′ = ℛT(1.11)
where 𝒱′ is the molar volume [m /(kg · mol) or ft3/(slug · mol)]. Of more use in
3

gasdynamic problems is a form obtained by dividing Eq. (1.10) by the mass of the
system:
pv = ηℛT (1.12)
where v is the specific volume as before, and η is the mole-mass ratio [(kg · mol)/kg
and (slug · mol)/slug]. (Note that the kilograms and slugs in these units do not cancel,
because the kilogram-mole and slug-mole are entities in themselves; the “kilogram”
and “slug” are just identifiers on the mole.) Also, Eq. (1.10) can be divided by the
system volume, yielding
p = CℛT (1.13)
3 3
where C is the concentration [(kg · mol)/m or (slug · mol)/ft ].
Finally, the equation of state can be expressed in terms of particles. Let NA be
the number of particles in a mole (Avogadro’s number, which for a kilogram-mole
is 6.02 × 1026 particles). Multiplying and dividing Eq. (1.13) by NA,

p = (NAC) (
NA )
ℛ
T (1.14)

Examining the units, NAC is physically the number density (number of parti-
cles per unit volume), and ℛ ̸NA is the gas constant per particle, which is precisely
the Boltzmann constant k. Hence, Eq. (1.14) becomes
p = nkT(1.15)
where n denotes number density.
In summary, the reader will frequently encounter the different forms of the
perfect gas equation of state just listed. However, do not be confused; they are all
the same thing and it is wise to become familiar with them all. In this book, par-
ticular use will be made of Eqs. (1.8), (1.9), and (1.12). Also, do not be confused
by the variety of gas constants. They are easily sorted out:
1. When the equation deals with moles, use the universal gas constant, which
is the “gas constant per mole.” It is the same for all gases, and equal to the
following in the two systems of units:
ℛ = 8314 J/(kg · mol · K)
ℛ = 4.97 × 104 (ft · lb)/(slug · mol · °R)
2. When the equation deals with mass, use the specific gas constant R, which
is the “gas constant per unit mass.” It is different for different gases, and is
related to the universal gas constant, R = ℛ∕ℳ, where ℳ is the molecular
weight. For air at standard conditions:
R = 287 J/(kg · K)
R = 1716 (ft · lb)/(slug · °R)
22 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

3. When the equation deals with particles, use the Boltzmann constant k, which
is the “gas constant per particle”:
k = 1.38 × 10−23 J/K
k = 0.565 × 10−23 (ft · lb) /°R
How accurate is the assumption of a perfect gas? It has been experimentally
determined that, at low pressures (near 1 atm or less) and at high temperatures
(standard temperature, 273 K, and above), the value p v R ̸ T for most pure gases
deviates from unity by less than 1 percent. However, at very cold temperatures and
high pressures, the molecules of the gas are more closely packed together, and
consequently intermolecular forces become more important. Under these conditions,
the gas is defined as a real gas. In such cases, the perfect gas equation of state must
be replaced by more accurate relations such as the van der Waals equation

(p + v2 ) (v − b) = RT (1.16)
a

where a and b are constants that depend on the type of gas. As a general rule of
thumb, deviations from the perfect gas equation of state vary approximately as p ̸ T 3.
In the vast majority of gasdynamic applications, the temperatures and pressures are
such that p = ρRT can be applied with confidence. Such will be the case throughout
this book.
In the early 1950s, aerodynamicists were suddenly confronted with hypersonic
entry vehicles at velocities as high as 26,000 ft/s (8 km/s). The shock layers about
such vehicles were hot enough to cause chemical reactions in the airflow (disso-
ciation, ionization, etc.). At that time, it became fashionable in the aerodynamic
literature to denote such conditions as “real gas effects.” However, in classical
physical chemistry, a real gas is defined as one in which intermolecular forces are
important, and the definition is completely divorced from the idea of chemical
reactions. In the preceding paragraphs, we have followed such a classical defini-
tion. For a chemically reacting gas, as will be discussed at length in Chap. 16,
most problems can be treated by assuming a mixture of perfect gases, where the
relation p = ρRT still holds. However, because R = ℛ ̸ℳ and ℳ varies due to
the chemical reactions, then R is a variable throughout the flow. It is preferable,
therefore, not to identify such ­phenomena as “real gas effects,” and this term will
not be used in this book. Rather, we will deal with “chemically reacting mixtures
of perfect gases,” which are the ­subject of Chaps. 16 and 17.

EXAMPLE 1.2

A pressure vessel that has a volume of 10 m3 is used to store high-pressure air for operat-
ing a supersonic wind tunnel. If the air pressure and temperature inside the vessel are 20 atm
and 300 K, respectively, what is the mass of air stored in the vessel?
■ Solution
Recall that 1 atm = 1.01 × 105 N/m2. From Eq. (1.9)
p (20) (1.01 × 105 )
ρ= = = 23.46 kg/m3
RT (287) (300)
 1.4 A Brief Review of Thermodynamics 23

The total mass stored is then

M = 𝒱ρ = (10)(23.46) = 234.6 kg

EXAMPLE 1.3

Calculate the isothermal compressibility for air at a pressure of 0.5 atm.

■ Solution
From Eq. (1.3)

v ( ∂p )T
1 ∂v
τT = −

From Eq. (1.8)

RT
v=
p
Thus,

( ∂p )T = − p2
∂v RT

Hence,

τT = − ( ) = −( )(− 2 ) =
1 ∂v p RT 1
v ∂p T RT p p

We see that the isothermal compressibility for a perfect gas is simply the reciprocal of the
­pressure:

1 1
τT = = = 2 atm−1
p 0.5
In terms of the International System of units, where p = (0.5)(1.01 × 105) = 5.05 × 104 N/m2,

τT = 1.98 × 10−5 m2/ N

In terms of the English Engineering System of units, where p = (0.5)(2116) = 1058 lb/ft2,

τT = 9.45 × 10−4 ft2/ lb

1.4.2 Internal Energy and Enthalpy

Returning to our microscopic view of a gas as a collection of particles in random
motion, the individual kinetic energy of each particle contributes to the overall
energy of the gas. Moreover, if the particle is a molecule, its rotational and vibra-
tional motions (see Chap. 16) also contribute to the gas energy. Finally, the motion
of electrons in both atoms and molecules is a source of energy. This small sketch
of atomic and molecular energies will be enlarged to a massive portrait in Chap. 16;
it is sufficient to note here that the energy of a particle can consist of several dif-
ferent forms of motion. In turn, these energies, summed over all the particles of
24 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

the gas, constitute the internal energy, e, of the gas. Moreover, if the particles of
the gas (called the system) are rattling about in their state of “maximum disorder”
(see again Chap. 16), the system of particles will be in equilibrium.
Return now to the macroscopic view of the gas as a continuum. Here, equi-
librium is evidenced by no gradients in velocity, pressure, temperature, and chem-
ical concentrations throughout the system, i.e., the system has uniform properties.
For an equilibrium system of a real gas where intermolecular forces are important,
and also for an equilibrium chemically reacting mixture of perfect gases, the inter-
nal energy is a function of both temperature and volume. Let e denote the specific
internal energy (internal energy per unit mass). Then, the enthalpy, h, is defined,
per unit mass, as h = e + pv, and we have
e = e (T, v) (1.17)
h = h (T, p)
for both a real gas and a chemically reacting mixture of perfect gases.
If the gas is not chemically reacting, and if we ignore intermolecular forces,
the resulting system is a thermally perfect gas, where internal energy and enthalpy
are functions of temperature only, and where the specific heats at constant volume
and pressure, cv and cp, are also functions of temperature only:
e = e (T )
h = h (T ) (1.18)
de = cv d T
dh = cp d T
The temperature variation of cv and cp is associated with the vibrational and elec-
tronic motion of the particles, as will be explained in Chap. 16.
Finally, if the specific heats are constant, the system is a calorically perfect
gas, where
e = cvT (1.19)
h = cpT
In Eq. (1.19), it has been assumed that h = e = 0 at T = 0.
In many compressible flow applications, the pressures and temperatures are
moderate enough that the gas can be considered to be calorically perfect. Indeed,
there is a large bulk of literature for flows with constant specific heats. For the
first half of this book, a calorically perfect gas will be assumed. This is the case
for atmospheric air at temperatures below 1000 K. However, at higher tempera-
tures, the vibrational motion of the O2 and N2 molecules in air becomes important,
and the air becomes thermally perfect, with specific heats that vary with tempera-
ture. Finally, when the temperature exceeds 2500 K, the O2 molecules begin to
dissociate into O atoms, and the air becomes chemically reacting. Above 4000 K,
the N2 molecules begin to dissociate. For these chemically reacting cases, from
Eq. (1.17), e depends on both T and v, and h depends on both T and p. (Actually,
in equilibrium thermodynamics, any state variable is uniquely determined by any
two other state variables. However, it is convenient to associate T and v with e,
 1.4 A Brief Review of Thermodynamics 25

and T and p with h.) Chapters 16 and 17 will discuss the thermodynamics and
gasdynamics of both thermally perfect and chemically reacting gases.
Consistent with Eq. (1.9) and the definition of enthalpy is the relation
cp − cv = R (1.20)
where the specific heats at constant pressure and constant volume are defined as

cp = ( )
∂h
∂T p

cv = ( )
∂e
and
∂T v
respectively. Equation (1.20) holds for a calorically perfect or a thermally perfect
gas. It is not valid for either a chemically reacting or a real gas. Two useful forms
of Eq. (1.20) can be simply obtained as follows. Divide Eq. (1.20) by cp:
cv R
1− =  (1.21)
cp cp
Define γ ≡ cp ̸cv. For air at standard conditions, γ = 1.4. Then Eq. (1.21) becomes
1 R
1− =
γ cp

Solving for cp,

γR
cp = (1.22)
γ−1 

Similarly, by dividing Eq. (1.20) by cv, we find that

R
cv = (1.23)
γ−1


Equations (1.22) and (1.23) hold for a thermally or calorically perfect gas; they
will be useful in our subsequent treatment of compressible flow.

EXAMPLE 1.4

For the pressure vessel in Example 1.2, calculate the total internal energy of the gas stored
in the vessel.
■ Solution
From Eq. (1.23)

R 287
cv = = = 717.5 J/kg · K
γ − 1 1.4 − 1
26 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

From Eq. (1.19)

e = cvT = (717.5) (300) = 2.153 × 105 J/kg

From Example 1.2, we calculated the mass of air in the vessel to be 234.6 kg. Thus, the
total internal energy is

E = Me = (234.6) (2.153 × 105 ) = 5.05 × 107 J

1.4.3 First Law of Thermodynamics

Consider a system, which is a fixed mass of gas separated from the surroundings
by a flexible boundary. For the time being, assume the system is stationary, i.e.,
it has no directed kinetic energy. Let δq be an incremental amount of heat added
to the system across the boundary (say by direct radiation or thermal conduction).
Also, let δw denote the work done on the system by the surroundings (say by a
displacement of the boundary, squeezing the volume of the system to a smaller
value). Due to the molecular motion of the gas, the system has an internal energy e.
(This is the specific internal energy if we assume a system of unit mass.) The heat
added and work done on the system cause a change in energy, and since the sys-
tem is stationary, this change in energy is simply de:

δq + δw = de  (1.24)

This is the first law of thermodynamics; it is an empirical result confirmed by labora-

tory and practical experience. In Eq. (1.24), e is a state variable. Hence, de is an exact
differential, and its value depends only on the initial and final states of the system.
In contrast, δq and δw depend on the process in going from the initial and final states.
For a given de, there are in general an infinite number of different ways (pro-
cesses) by which heat can be added and work done on the system. We will be
primarily concerned with three types of processes:
1. Adiabatic process—one in which no heat is added to or taken away from
the system
2. Reversible process—one in which no dissipative phenomena occur, i.e.,
where the effects of viscosity, thermal conductivity, and mass diffusion are
absent
3. Isentropic process—one which is both adiabatic and reversible
For a reversible process, it can be easily proved (see any good text on thermo-
dynamics) that δw = −p dv, where dv is an incremental change in specific volume
due to a displacement of the boundary of the system. Hence, Eq. (1.24) becomes
δq = p dv = de(1.25)
If, in addition, this process is also adiabatic (hence, isentropic), Eq. (1.25) leads to
some extremely useful thermodynamic formulas. However, before obtaining these
formulas, it is useful to review the concept of entropy.
 1.4 A Brief Review of Thermodynamics 27

1.4.4 Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Consider a block of ice in contact with a red-hot plate of steel. Experience tells us
that the ice will warm up (and probably melt) and the steel plate will cool down.
However, Eq. (1.24) does not necessarily say this will happen. Indeed, the first
law allows that the ice may get cooler and the steel plate hotter—just as long as
energy is conserved during the process. Obviously, this does not happen; instead,
nature imposes another condition on the process, a condition which tells us in
which direction a process will take place. To ascertain the proper direction of a
process, let us define a new state variable, the entropy, as
δqrev
ds =
T
where s is the entropy of the system, δqrev is an incremental amount of heat added
reversibly to the system, and T is the system temperature. Do not be confused by
this definition. It defines a change in entropy in terms of a reversible addition of
heat, δqrev. However, entropy is a state variable, and it can be used in conjunction
with any type of process, reversible or irreversible. The quantity δqrev is just an
artifice; an effective value of δqrev can always be assigned to relate the initial and
end points of an irreversible process, where the actual amount of heat added is δq.
Indeed, an alternative and probably more lucid relation is

δq
ds = + dsirrev  (1.26)
T

Equation (1.26) applies in general; it states that the change in entropy during any
incremental process is equal to the actual heat added divided by the temperature,
δq ̸T, plus a contribution from the irreversible dissipative phenomena of viscosity,
thermal conductivity, and mass diffusion occurring within the system, dsirrev. These
dissipative phenomena always increase the entropy:

dsirrev ≥ 0 (1.27)

The equal sign denotes a reversible process, where, by definition, the dissipative
phenomena are absent. Hence, a combination of Eqs. (1.26) and (1.27) yields

δq
ds ≥  (1.28)
T

Furthermore, if the process is adiabatic, δq = 0, and Eq. (1.28) becomes

ds ≥ 0  (1.29)

Equations (1.28) and (1.29) are forms of the second law of thermodynamics. The
second law tells us in what direction a process will take place. A process will
proceed in a direction such that the entropy of the system plus surroundings always
increases, or at best stays the same. In our example at the beginning of Sec.1.4.4,
28 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

consider the system to be both the ice and steel plate combined. The simultaneous
heating of the ice and cooling of the plate yields a net increase in entropy for the
system. On the other hand, the impossible situation of the ice getting cooler and
the plate hotter would yield a net decrease in entropy, a situation forbidden by the
second law. In summary, the concept of entropy in combination with the second
law allows us to predict the direction that nature takes.

1.4.5 Calculation of Entropy

Consider again the first law in the form of Eq. (1.25). If we assume that the heat
is reversible, and we use the definition of entropy in the form δqrev = T ds, then
Eq. (1.25) becomes
T ds − p dv = de

T ds = de + p dv  (1.30)

Another form can be obtained in terms of enthalpy. For example, by definition,

h = e + pv
Differentiating, we obtain
dh = de + p dv + v dp (1.31)
Combining Eqs. (1.30) and (1.31), we have

T ds = dh = v dp  (1.32)

Equations (1.30) and (1.32) are important, and should be kept in mind as much as
the original form of the first law, Eq. (1.24).
For a thermally perfect gas, from Eq. (1.18), we have dh = cp d T. Substitution
into Eq. (1.32) gives
dT v dp
ds = cp −  (1.33)
T T
Substituting the perfect gas equation of state p v = RT into Eq. (1.33), we have
dT dp
ds = cp − R  (1.34)
T p
Integrating Eq. (1.34) between states 1 and 2,

∫
T2
dT p2
s2 − s1 = cp − R ln  (1.35)
T1
T p1
Equation (1.35) holds for a thermally perfect gas. It can be evaluated if cp is known
as a function of T. If we further assume a calorically perfect gas, where cp is con-
stant, Eq. (1.35) yields

T2 p2
s2 − s1 = cp ln − R ln  (1.36)
T1 p1
 1.4 A Brief Review of Thermodynamics 29

Similarly, starting with Eq. (1.30), and using de = cv d T, the change in entropy
can also be obtained as

T2 v2
s2 − s1 = cv ln + R ln (1.37)
T1 v1

As an exercise, show this yourself. Equations (1.36) and (1.37) allow the calcula-
tion of the change in entropy between two states of a calorically perfect gas in
terms of either the pressure and temperature, or the volume and temperature. Note
that entropy is a function of both p and T, or v and T, even for the simplest case
of a calorically perfect gas.

EXAMPLE 1.5

Consider the air in the pressure vessel in Example 1.2. Let us now heat the gas in the vessel.
Enough heat is added to increase the temperature to 600 K. Calculate the change in entropy
of the air inside the vessel.
■ Solution
The vessel has a constant volume; hence, as the air temperature is increased, the pressure
also increases. Let the subscripts 1 and 2 denote the conditions before and after heating,
respectively. Then, from Eq. (1.8),
p2 T2 600
= = =2
p1 T1 300

In Example 1.4, we found that cv = 717.5 J/kg · K. Thus, from Eq. (1.20)

cp = cv + R = 717.5 + 287 = 1004.5 J/kg · K

From Eq. (1.36)

T2 p2
s2 − s1 = cp ln − R ln
T1 p1
= 1004.5 ln 2 − 287 ln 2 = 497.3 J/kg · K

From Example 1.2, the mass of air inside the vessel is 234.6 kg. Thus, the total entropy
change is

S2 − S1 = M(s2 − s1 ) = (234.6) (497.3) = 1.167 × 105 J/K

1.4.6 Isentropic Relations

An isentropic process was already defined as adiabatic and reversible. For an
adiabatic process, δq = 0, and for a reversible process, dsirrev = 0. Hence, from
Eq. (1.26), an isentropic process is one in which ds = 0, i.e., the ­entropy is
­constant.
30 CHAPTER 1 Compressible Flow—Some History and Introductory Thoughts

Important relations for an isentropic process can be obtained directly from

Eqs. (1.36) and (1.37), setting s2 = s1. For example, from Eq. (1.36)
T2 p2
0 = cp ln− R ln
T1 p1
p2 cp T2
ln = ln
p 1 R T1

=( ) 
p2 T2 cp∕R
(1.38)
p1 T1
Recalling Eq. (1.22),
cp γ
=
R γ−1
and substituting into Eq. (1.38),

=( )
p2 T2 γ∕(γ−1)
(1.39)
p1 T1
Similarly, from Eq. (1.37)
T2 v2
0 = cv ln+ R ln
T1 v1
v2 cv T2
ln = − ln
v1 R T1

=( )
v2 T2 −cv∕R
 (1.40)
v1 T1
From Eq. (1.23)
cv 1
=
R γ−1
Substituting into Eq. (1.40), we have

=( )
v2 T2 −1∕(γ−1)
 (1.41)
v1 T1
Recall that ρ2∕ρ1 = v1∕v2. Hence, from Eq. (1.41)

=( )
ρ2 T2 1∕(γ−1)
(1.42)
ρ1 T1
Summarizing Eqs. (1.39) and (1.42),

=( ) =( )
p2 ρ2 γ T2 γ∕(γ−1)
(1.43)
p1 ρ1 T1

Equation (1.43) is important. It relates pressure, density, and temperature for an

isentropic process, and is very frequently used in the analysis of compressible flows.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
place them on a new theoretical basis. That basis, in accordance
with the general advance of thought, was supplied by religion.
Sexual relations which had once been condemned as wrong and
unnatural because they were supposed to thwart the natural
multiplication of animals and plants and thereby to diminish the food
supply, would now be condemned because it was imagined that they
were displeasing to gods or spirits, those stalking-horses which
savage man rigs out in the cast-off clothes of his still more savage
ancestors. The moral practice would therefore remain the same,
though its theoretical basis had been shifted from magic to religion.
In this or some such way as this we may conjecture that the Karens,
Dyaks, and other savages reached those curious conceptions of
sexual immorality and its consequences which we have been
considering. But from the nature of the case the development of
moral theory which I have sketched is purely hypothetical and hardly
admits of verification.
However, even if we assume for a moment that
But the reason why the savages in question reached their present
savages came to
regard certain view of sexual immorality in the way I have
sexual relations as surmised, there still remains the question, How did
irregular and they originally come to regard certain relations of
immoral remains
obscure. the sexes as immoral? For clearly the notion that
such immorality interferes with the course of
nature must have been secondary and derivative: people must on
independent grounds have concluded that certain relations between
men and women were wrong and injurious before they extended the
conclusion by false analogy to nature. The question brings us face to
face with the deepest and darkest problem in the history of society,
the problem of the origin of the laws which still regulate marriage and
the relations of the sexes among civilized nations; for broadly
speaking the fundamental laws which we recognize in these matters
are recognized also by savages, with this difference, that among
many savages the sexual prohibitions are far more numerous, the
horror excited by breaches of them far deeper, and the punishment
inflicted on the offenders far sterner than with us. The problem has
often been attacked, but never solved. Perhaps it is destined, like so
many riddles of that Sphinx which we call nature, to remain for ever
insoluble. At all events this is not the place to broach so intricate and
profound a discussion. I return to my immediate subject.
In the opinion of many savages the effect of
Sexual immorality is sexual immorality is not merely to disturb, directly
thought by many
savages to injure or indirectly, the course of nature by blighting the
the delinquents crops, causing the earth to quake, volcanoes to
themselves, their vomit fire, and so forth: the delinquents
offspring, and their
innocent spouses. themselves, their offspring, or their innocent
spouses are supposed to suffer in their own
persons for the sin that has been committed. Thus among the
Baganda of Central Africa “adultery was also regarded as a danger
to children; it was thought that women who were guilty of it during
pregnancy caused the child to die, either prior to birth, or at the time
of birth. Sometimes the guilty woman would herself die in childbed;
or, if she was safely delivered, she would have a tendency to devour
her child, and would have to be guarded lest she should kill it.”103.1
“When there was a case of retarded delivery, the relatives attributed
it to adultery; they made the woman confess the name of the man
with whom she had had intercourse, and if she died, her husband
was fined by the members of her clan, for they said: ‘We did not give
our daughter to you for the purpose of adultery, and you should have
guarded her.’ In most cases, however, the medicine-men were able
to save the woman’s life, and upon recovery she was upbraided, and
the man whom she accused was heavily fined.”103.2 The Baganda
thought that the infidelity of the father as well as of the mother
endangered the life of the child. For “it was also supposed that a
man who had sexual intercourse with any woman not his wife, during
the time that any one of his wives was nursing a child, would cause
the child to fall ill, and that unless he confessed his guilt and
obtained from the medicine-man the necessary remedies to cancel
the evil results, the child would die.”103.3 The common childish
ailment which was thought to be caused by the adultery of the father
or mother was called amakiro, and its symptoms were well
recognized: they consisted of nausea and general debility, and the
only cure for them was a frank confession by the guilty parent and
the performance of a magical ceremony by the medicine-man.103.4
 Similar views as to the disastrous effects of
Disastrous effects adultery on mother and child seem to be
of adultery on
adulteress and her widespread among Bantu tribes. Thus among the
child. Awemba of Northern Rhodesia, when both mother
and child die in childbirth, great horror is
expressed by all, who assert that the woman must assuredly have
committed adultery with many men to suffer such a fate. They exhort
her even with her last breath to name the adulterer; and whoever is
mentioned by her is called the “murderer” (musoka) and has
afterwards to pay a heavy fine to the injured husband. Similarly if the
child is born dead and the mother survives, the Awemba take it for
granted that the woman has been unfaithful to her husband, and
they ask her to name the murderer of her child, that is, the man
whose guilty love has been the death of the babe.104.1 In like manner
the Thonga, a Bantu tribe of South Africa, about Delagoa Bay, are of
opinion that if a woman’s travail pangs are unduly prolonged or she
fails to bring her offspring to the birth, she must certainly have
committed adultery, and they insist upon her making a clean breast
as the only means of ensuring her delivery; should she suppress the
name even of one of several lovers with whom she may have gone
astray, the child cannot be born. So convinced are the women of the
sufferings which adultery, if unacknowledged, entails on the guilty
mother in childbed, that a woman who knows her child to be
illegitimate will privately confess her sin to the midwife before she is
actually brought to bed, in the hope thereby of alleviating and
shortening her travail pangs.104.2 Further, the
Sympathetic
relation between an
Thonga believe that adultery establishes a
adulterer and the physical relationship of mutual sympathy between
injured husband. the adulterer and the injured husband such that
the life of the one is in a manner bound up with the
life of the other; indeed this relationship is thought to arise between
any two men who have had sexual connexion with the same woman.
As a native put it to a missionary, “They have met together in one life
through the blood of that woman; they have drunk from the same
pool.” To express it otherwise, they have formed a blood covenant
with each other through the woman as intermediary. “This
establishes between them a most curious mutual dependence:
should one of them be ill, the other must not visit him; the patient
might die. If he runs a thorn into his foot, the other must not help him
to extract it. It is taboo. The wound would not heal. If he dies, his
rival must not assist at his mourning or he would die himself.” Hence
if a man has committed adultery, as sometimes happens, with one of
his father’s younger wives, and the father dies, his undutiful son may
not take the part which would otherwise fall to him in the funeral
rites; indeed should he attempt to attend the burial, his relations
would drive him away in pity, lest by this mark of respect and
perhaps of remorse he should forfeit his life.105.1 In
Injurious effects of
adultery on the
like manner the Akikuyu of British East Africa
innocent husband, believe that if a son has adulterous intercourse
wife, or child. with one of his father’s wives, the innocent father,
not the guilty young scapegrace, contracts a
dangerous pollution (thahu), the effect of which is to make him ill and
emaciated or to break out into sores or boils, and even in all
probability to die, if the danger is not averted by the timely
intervention of a medicine-man.105.2 The Anyanja of British Central
Africa believe that if a man commits adultery while his wife is with
child, she will die; hence on the death of his wife the widower is often
roundly accused of having killed her by his infidelity.105.3 Without
going so far as this, the Masai of German East Africa hold that if a
father were to touch his infant on the day after he had been guilty of
adultery, the child would fall sick.105.4 According to the Akamba of
British East Africa, if a woman after giving birth to a child is false to
her husband before her first menstruation, the child will surely
die.105.5 The Akamba are also of opinion that if a
Injurious effects of
incest on the
woman is guilty of incest with her brother she will
offspring. be unable to bring to the birth the seed which she
has conceived by him. In that case the man must
purge his sin by bringing a big goat to the elders, and the woman is
ceremonially smeared with the contents of the animal’s stomach.106.1
Among the Washamba of German East Africa it happened that a
married woman lost three children, one after the other, by death. A
diviner being called in to ascertain the cause of this calamity,
attributed it to incest of which she had been accidentally guilty with
her father.106.2
Again, it appears to be a common notion with
Wife’s infidelity at savages that the infidelity of a wife prevents her
home thought to
endanger the husband from killing game, and even exposes him
absent husband in to imminent risk of being himself killed or wounded
the chase or the by wild beasts. This belief is entertained by the
war.
Wagogo and other peoples of East Africa, by the
Moxos Indians of Bolivia, and by Aleutian hunters of sea-otters. In
such cases any mishap that befalls the husband during the chase is
set down by him to the score of his wife’s misconduct at home; he
returns in wrath and visits his ill-luck on the often innocent object of
his suspicions even, it may be, to the shedding of her blood.106.3
While the Huichol Indians of Mexico are away seeking for a species
of cactus which they regard as sacred, their women at home are
bound to be strictly chaste; otherwise they believe that they would be
visited with illness and would endanger the success of the men’s
expedition.106.4 An old writer on Madagascar tells us that though
Malagasy women are voluptuous they will not allow themselves to be
drawn into an intrigue while their husbands are absent at the wars,
for they believe that infidelity at such a time would cause the absent
spouse to be wounded or slain.106.5 The Baganda of Central Africa
held similar views as to the fatal effect which a wife’s adultery at
home might have on her absent husband at the wars; they thought
that the gods resented her misconduct and withdrew their favour and
protection from her warrior spouse, thus punishing the innocent
instead of the guilty. Indeed, it was believed that if a woman were
even to touch a man’s clothing while her husband was away with the
army, it would bring misfortune on her husband’s weapon, and might
even cost him his life. The gods of the Baganda were most particular
about women strictly observing the taboos during their husbands’
absence and having nothing to do with other men all that time. On
his return from the war a man tested his wife’s fidelity by drinking
water from a gourd which she handed to him before he entered his
house. If she had been unfaithful to him during his absence, the
water was supposed to make him ill; hence should it chance that he
fell sick after drinking the draught, his wife was at once clapped into
the stocks and tried for adultery; and if she confessed her guilt and
named her paramour, the offender was heavily fined or even put to
death.107.1 Similarly among the Bangala or the Boloki of the Upper
Congo, “when men went to fight distant towns their wives were
expected not to commit adultery with such men as were left in the
town, or their husbands would receive spear wounds from the
enemy. The sisters of the fighters would take every precaution to
guard against the adultery of their brothers’ wives while they were on
the expedition.”107.2 So among the Haida Indians of the Queen
Charlotte Islands, while the men were away at the wars, their wives
“all slept in one house to keep watch over each other; for, if a woman
were unfaithful to her husband while he was with a war-party, he
would probably be killed.”107.3 If only King David had held this belief
he might have contented himself with a single instead of a double
crime, and need not have sent his Machiavellian order to put the
injured husband in the forefront of the battle.107.4
The Zulus imagine that an unfaithful wife who
Injurious effect of touches her husband’s furniture without first eating
wife’s infidelity on
her husband. certain herbs causes him to be seized with a fit of
coughing of which he soon dies. Moreover, among
the Zulus “a man who has had criminal intercourse with a sick
person’s wife is prohibited from visiting the sick-chamber; and, if the
sick person is a woman, any female who has committed adultery
with her husband must not visit her. They say that, if these visits ever
take place, the patient is immediately oppressed with a cold
perspiration and dies. This prohibition was thought to find out the
infidelities of the women and to make them fear discovery.”108.1 For a
similar reason, apparently, during the sickness of a
African chiefs Caffre chief his tribe was bound to observe strict
thought to be
injuriously affected continence under pain of death.108.2 The notion
by the incontinence seems to have been that any act of incontinence
of their subjects.
would through some sort of magical sympathy
prove fatal to the sick chief. The Ovakumbi, a tribe in the south of
Angola, think that the carnal intercourse of young people under the
age of puberty would cause the king to die within the year, if it were
not severely punished. The punishment for such a treasonable
offence used to be death.108.3 Similarly, in the kingdom of Congo,
when the sacred pontiff, called the Chitomé, was going his rounds
throughout the country, all his subjects had to live strictly chaste, and
any person found guilty of incontinence at such times was put to
death without mercy. They thought that universal chastity was
essential to the preservation of the life of the pontiff, whom they
revered as the head of their religion and their common father.
Accordingly when he was abroad he took care to warn his faithful
subjects by a public crier, that no man might plead ignorance as an
excuse for a breach of the law.108.4
Speaking of the same region of West Africa, an
Injurious effects of old writer tells us that “conjugal chastity is
adultery on the
adulteress. singularly respected among these people; adultery
is placed in the list of the greatest crimes. By an
opinion generally received, the women are persuaded that if they
were to render themselves guilty of infidelity, the greatest
misfortunes would overwhelm them, unless they averted them by an
avowal made to their husbands, and in obtaining their pardon for the
injury they might have done.”109.1 The Looboos of
Dangerous pollution
supposed to be
Sumatra think that an unmarried young woman
incurred by who has been got with child falls thereby into a
unchastity. dangerous state called looï, which is such that she
spreads misfortune wherever she goes. Hence
when she enters a house, the people try to drive her out by
force.109.2 Amongst the Sulka of New Britain unmarried people who
have been guilty of unchastity are believed to contract thereby a fatal
pollution (sle) of which they will die, if they do not confess their fault
and undergo a public ceremony of purification. Such persons are
avoided: no one will take anything at their hands: parents point them
out to their children and warn them not to go near them. The
infection which they are supposed to spread is apparently physical
rather than moral in its nature; for special care is taken to keep the
paraphernalia of the dance out of their way, the mere presence of
persons so polluted being thought to tarnish the paint on the
instruments. Men who have contracted this dangerous taint rid
themselves of it by drinking sea-water mixed with shredded coco-nut
and ginger, after which they are thrown into the sea. Emerging from
the water they put off the dripping clothes which they wore during
their state of defilement and cast them away. This purification is
believed to save their lives, which otherwise must have been
destroyed by their unchastity.109.3 Among the Buduma of Lake Chad,
in Central Africa, at the present day “a child born out of wedlock is
looked on as a disgrace, and must be drowned. If this is not done,
great misfortunes will happen to the tribe. All the men will fall sick,
and the women, cows and goats will become barren.”110.1
These examples may suffice to shew that
Conclusion. among many races sexual immorality, whether in
the form of adultery, fornication, or incest, is
believed of itself to entail, naturally and inevitably, without the
intervention of society, most serious consequences not only on the
culprits themselves, but also on the community, often indeed to
menace the very existence of the whole people by destroying the
food supply. I need hardly remind you that all these beliefs are
entirely baseless; no such consequences flow from such acts; in
short, the beliefs in question are a pure superstition. Yet we cannot
doubt that wherever this superstition has existed it must have served
as a powerful motive to deter men from adultery, fornication, and
incest. If that is so, then I think I have proved my third proposition,
which is, that among certain races and at certain times superstition
has strengthened the respect for marriage, and has thereby
contributed to the stricter observance of the rules of sexual morality
both among the married and the unmarried.
 V.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN LIFE

I pass now to my fourth and last proposition, which

Superstition as a is, that among certain races and at certain times
prop to the security
of human life. superstition has strengthened the respect for
human life and has thereby contributed to the
security of its enjoyment.
The particular superstition which has had this
The fear of ghosts. salutary effect is the fear of ghosts, especially the
ghosts of the murdered. The fear of ghosts is
widespread, perhaps universal, among savages; it is hardly extinct
among ourselves. If it were extinct, some learned societies might put
up their shutters. Dead or alive, the fear of ghosts has certainly not
been an unmixed blessing. Indeed it might with some show of
reason be maintained that no belief has done so much to retard the
economic and thereby the social progress of mankind as the belief in
the immortality of the soul; for this belief has led race after race,
generation after generation, to sacrifice the real wants of the living to
the imaginary wants of the dead. The waste and destruction of life
and property which this faith has entailed are enormous and
incalculable. Without entering into details I will
Disastrous illustrate by a single example the disastrous
consequences
entailed by the fear economic, political, and moral consequences
of the dead. which flow from that systematic destruction of
property which the fear of the dead has imposed
on many races. Speaking of the Patagonians, the well-informed and
intelligent traveller d’Orbigny observes: “They have no laws, no
punishments inflicted on the guilty. Each lives as he pleases, and the
greatest thief is the most highly esteemed, because he is the most
dexterous. A motive which will always prevent them from
abandoning the practice of theft, and at the same time will always
present an obstacle to their ever forming fixed settlements, is the
religious prejudice which, on the death of one of their number,
obliges them to destroy his property. A Patagonian, who has
amassed during the whole of his life an estate by thieving from the
whites or exchanging the products of the chase with neighbouring
tribes, has done nothing for his heirs; all his savings are destroyed
with him, and his children are obliged to rebuild their fortunes afresh,
—a custom which, I may observe in passing, is found also among
the Tamanaques of the Orinoco, who ravage the field of the
deceased and cut down the trees which he has planted;112.1 and
among the Yuracares, who abandon and shut up the house of the
dead, regarding it as a profanation to gather a single fruit from the
trees of his field. It is easy to see that with such customs they can
nourish no real ambition since their needs are limited to themselves;
it is one of the causes of their natural indolence and is a motive
which, so long as it exists, will always impede the progress of their
civilization. Why should they trouble themselves about the future
when they have nothing to hope from it? The present is all in all in
their eyes, and their only interest is individual; the son will take no
care of his father’s herd, since it will never come into his possession;
he busies himself only with his own affairs and soon turns his
thoughts to looking after himself and getting a livelihood. This
custom has certainly something to commend it from the moral point
of view in so far as it destroys all the motives for that covetousness
in heirs which is too often to be seen in our cities. The desire or the
hope of a speedy death of their parents cannot exist, since the
parents leave absolutely nothing to their children; but on the other
hand, if the Patagonians had preserved hereditary properties, they
would without doubt have been to-day in possession of numerous
herds, and would necessarily have been more formidable to the
whites, since their power in that case would have been more than
doubled, whereas their present habits will infallibly leave them in a
stationary state, from which nothing but a radical change will be able
to deliver them.”113.1 Thus poverty, indolence, improvidence, political
weakness, and all the hardships of a nomadic life are the miserable
inheritance which the fear of the dead entails on these wretched
Indians. Heavy indeed is the toll which superstition exacts from all
who pass within her gloomy portal.
 But I am not here concerned with the disastrous and deplorable
consequences, the unspeakable follies and crimes
Fear of the ghosts and miseries, which have flowed in practice from
of the slain a check the theory of a future life. My business at present
on murder.
is with the more cheerful side of the subject, with
the wholesome, though groundless, terror which ghosts, apparitions,
and spectres strike into the breasts of hardened ruffians and
desperadoes. So far as such persons reflect at all and regulate their
passions by the dictates of prudence, it seems plain that a fear of
ghostly retribution, of the angry spirit of their victim, must act as a
salutary restraint on their disorderly impulses; it must reinforce the
dread of purely secular punishment and furnish the choleric and
malicious with a fresh motive for pausing before they imbrue their
hands in blood. This is so obvious, and the fear of ghosts is so
notorious, that both might perhaps be taken for granted, especially at
this late hour of the evening. But for the sake of completeness I will
mention a few illustrative facts, taking them almost at random from
distant races in order to indicate the wide diffusion of this particular
superstition. I shall try to shew that while all ghosts are feared, the
ghosts of slain men are especially dreaded by their slayers.
The ancient Greeks believed that the soul of any
Ancient Greek man who had just been killed was angry with his
belief as to the
anger of a ghost at slayer and troubled him; hence even an
his slayer. involuntary homicide had to depart from his
country for a year until the wrath of the dead man
had cooled down; nor might the slayer return until sacrifice had been
offered and ceremonies of purification performed. If his victim
chanced to be a foreigner, the homicide had to shun the country of
the dead man as well as his own.114.1 The legend of the matricide
Orestes, how he roamed from place to place pursued and maddened
by the ghost of his murdered mother, reflects faithfully the ancient
Greek conception of the fate which overtakes the murderer at the
hands of the ghost.114.2
But it is important to observe that not only does
Among the Greeks the hag-ridden homicide go in terror of his victim’s
a manslayer was
dreaded and ghost; he is himself an object of fear and aversion
shunned because to the whole community on account of the angry
he was thought to and dangerous spirit which dogs his steps. It was
be haunted by the
angry and probably more in self-defence than out of
dangerous ghost of consideration for the manslayer that Attic law
his victim. compelled him to quit the country. This comes out
clearly from the provisions of the law. For in the
first place, on going into banishment the homicide had to follow a
prescribed road:114.3 obviously it would have been hazardous to let
him stray about the country with a wrathful ghost at his heels. In the
second place, if another charge was brought against a banished
homicide, he was allowed to return to Attica to plead in his defence,
but he might not set foot on land; he had to speak from a ship, and
even the ship might not cast anchor or put out a gangway. The
judges avoided all contact with the culprit, for they judged the case
sitting or standing on the shore.114.4 Plainly the intention of this rule
was literally to insulate the slayer, lest by touching Attic earth even
indirectly through the anchor or the gangway he should blast it by a
sort of electric shock, as we might say; though doubtless the Greeks
would have said that the blight was wrought by contact with the
ghost, by a sort of effluence of death. For the same reason if such a
man, sailing the sea, happened to be wrecked on the coast of the
country where his crime had been committed, he was allowed to
camp on the shore till a ship came to take him off, but he was
expected to keep his feet in sea-water all the time,115.1 evidently to
neutralise the ghostly infection and prevent it from spreading to the
soil. For the same reason, when the turbulent people of Cynaetha in
Arcadia had perpetrated a peculiarly atrocious massacre and had
sent envoys to Sparta, all the Arcadian states through which the
envoys took their way ordered them out of the country; and after
their departure the Mantineans purified themselves and their
belongings by sacrificing victims and carrying them round the city
and the whole of their land.115.2 So when the Athenians had heard of
a massacre at Argos, they caused purificatory offerings to be carried
round the public assembly.115.3
No doubt the root of all such observances was a
The legend of fear of the dangerous ghost which haunts the
Orestes reflects the
Greek horror of a murderer and against which the whole community
manslayer.
 as well as the homicide himself must be on its
guard. The Greek practice in these respects is clearly mirrored in the
legend of Orestes; for it is said that the people of Troezen would not
receive him in their houses until he had been purified of his guilt,115.4
that is, until he had been rid of his mother’s ghost. The Akikuyu of
British East Africa think that if a man who has killed another comes
and sleeps at a village and eats with a family in their hut, the persons
with whom he has eaten contract a dangerous pollution which might
prove fatal to them were it not removed in time by a medicine-man.
The very skin on which the homicide slept has absorbed the taint
and might infect any one else who slept on it. So a medicine-man is
sent for to purify the hut and its occupants.115.5
Manslayers purged
of the stain of
The Greek mode of purifying a homicide was to kill
human blood by a sucking pig and wash the hands of the guilty
being smeared with man in its blood: until this ceremony had been
the blood of pigs.
performed the manslayer was not allowed to
speak. 116.1 Among the hill-tribes near Rajamahal in Bengal, if two
men quarrel and blood be shed, the one who cut the other is fined a
hog or a fowl, “the blood of which is sprinkled over the wounded
person, to purify him, and to prevent his being possessed by a
devil.”116.2 In this case the blood-sprinkling is avowedly intended to
prevent the man from being haunted by a spirit; only it is not the
aggressor but his victim who is supposed to be in danger and
therefore to stand in need of purification. We have seen that among
these and other savage tribes pig’s blood is sprinkled on persons
and things as a mode of purifying them from the pollution of sexual
crimes.116.3 Among the Cameroon negroes in West Africa accidental
homicide can be expiated by the blood of an animal. The relations of
the slayer and of the slain assemble. An animal is killed, and every
person present is smeared with its blood on his face and breast.
They think that the guilt of manslaughter is thus atoned for, and that
no punishment will overtake the homicide.116.4 In Car Nicobar a man
possessed by devils is cleansed of them by being rubbed all over
with pig’s blood and beaten with leaves. The devils are supposed to
be thus swept off like flies from the man’s body to the leaves, which
are then folded up and tied tightly with a special kind of string. A
professional exorciser administers the beating, and at every stroke
with the leaves he falls down with his face on the floor and calls out
in a squeaky voice, “Here is a devil.” This ceremony is performed by
night; and before daybreak all the packets of leaves containing the
devils are thrown into the sea.117.1 The Greeks similarly used laurel
leaves as well as pig’s blood in purificatory ceremonies.117.2 In all
such cases we may assume that the purification was originally
conceived as physical rather than as moral, as a sort of detergent
which washed, swept, or scraped the ghostly or demoniacal pollution
from the person of the ghost-haunted or demon-possessed man.
The motive for employing blood in these rites of cleansing is not
clear. Perhaps the purgative virtue ascribed to it may have been
based on the notion that the offended spirit accepts the blood as a
substitute for the blood of the man or woman.117.3 However, it is
doubtful whether this explanation could cover all the cases in which
blood is sprinkled as a mode of purification. Certainly it is odd, as the
sage Heraclitus long ago remarked, that blood-stains should be
thought to be removed by blood-stains, as if a man who had been
bespattered with mud should think to cleanse himself by
bespattering himself with more mud.117.4 But the ways of man are
wonderful and sometimes past finding out.
There was a curious story that after Orestes had
The matricide gone mad through murdering his mother he
Orestes is said to
have recovered his recovered his wits by biting off one of his own
wits by biting off fingers; the Furies of his murdered mother, which
one of his own had appeared black to him before, appeared white
fingers.
as soon as he had mutilated himself in this way: it
was as if the taste of his own blood sufficed to avert or disarm the
wrathful ghost.117.5 A hint of the way in which the blood may have
been supposed to produce this result is furnished by the practice of
some savages. The Indians of Guiana believe that
Manslayers an avenger of blood who has slain his man must
commonly taste
their victims’ blood go mad unless he tastes the blood of his victim;
in order not to be the notion apparently is that the ghost drives him
haunted by their crazy, just as the ghost of Clytemnestra did to
ghosts.
Orestes, who was also, be it remembered, an
avenger of blood. In order to avert this consequence the Indian
manslayer resorts on the third night to the grave of his victim, pierces
the corpse with a sharp-pointed stick, and withdrawing it sucks the
blood of the murdered man. After that he goes home with an easy
mind, satisfied that he has done his duty and that he has nothing
more to fear from the ghost.118.1 A similar custom was observed by
the Maoris in battle. When a warrior had slain his foe in combat, he
tasted his blood, believing that this preserved him from the avenging
spirit (atua) of his victim; for they imagined that “the moment a slayer
had tasted the blood of the slain, the dead man became a part of his
being and placed him under the protection of the atua or guardian-
spirit of the deceased.”118.2 Thus in the opinion of these savages, by
swallowing a portion of their victim they made him a part of
themselves and thereby converted him from an enemy into an ally;
they established, in the strictest sense of the words, a blood-
covenant with him. The Aricara Indians also drank the blood of their
slain foes and proclaimed the deed by the mark of a red hand on
their faces.118.3 The motive for this practice may have been, as with
the Maoris, a desire to appropriate and so disarm the ghost of an
enemy. In antiquity some of the Scythians used to drink the blood of
the first foes they killed; and they also tasted the blood of the friends
with whom they made a covenant, for “they take that to be the surest
pledge of good faith.”118.4 The motive of the two
Homicides
supposed to go
customs was probably the same. “To the present
mad unless they day, when a person of another tribe has been slain
taste the blood of by a Nandi, the blood must be carefully washed off
their victim.
the spear or sword into a cup made of grass, and
drunk by the slayer. If this is not done it is thought that the man will
become frenzied.”118.5 So among some tribes of the Lower Niger “it
is customary and necessary for the executioner to lick the blood that
is on the blade”; moreover “the custom of licking the blood off the
blade of a sword by which a man has been killed in war is common
to all these tribes, and the explanation given me by the Ibo, which is
generally accepted, is, that if this was not done, the act of killing
would so affect the strikers as to cause them to run amok among
their own people; because the sight and smell of blood render them
absolutely senseless as well as regardless of all consequences. And
this licking the blood is the only sure remedy, and the only way in
which they can recover themselves.”119.1 So, too, among the Shans
of Burma “it was the curious custom of executioners to taste the
blood of their victims, as they believed if this were not done illness
and death would follow in a short time. In remote times Shan soldiers
always bit the bodies of men killed by them in battle.”119.2 Strange as
it may seem, this truly savage superstition exists apparently in Italy
to this day. There is a widespread opinion in Calabria that if a
murderer is to escape he must suck his victim’s blood from the
reeking blade of the dagger with which he did the deed.119.3 We can
now perhaps understand why the matricide Orestes was thought to
have recovered his wandering wits as soon as he had bitten off one
of his fingers. By tasting his own blood, which was also that of his
victim, since she was his mother, he might be supposed to form a
blood-covenant with the ghost and so to convert it from a foe into a
friend. The Kabyles of North Africa think that if a
Various precautions murderer leaps seven times over his victim’s grave
taken by
manslayers against within three or seven days of the murder, he will
the ghosts of their be quite safe. Hence the fresh grave of a
victims.
murdered man is carefully guarded.119.4 The
Lushai of North-Eastern India believe that if a man kills an enemy the
ghost of his victim will haunt him and he will go mad, unless he
performs a certain ceremony which will make him master of the dead
man’s soul in the other world. The ceremony includes the sacrifice of
an animal, whether a pig, a goat, or a mithan.120.1 Among the
Awemba of Northern Rhodesia, “according to a superstition common
among Central African tribes, unless the slayers were purified from
blood-guiltiness they would become mad. On the night of return no
warrior might sleep in his own hut, but lay in the open nsaka in the
village. The next day, after bathing in the stream and being anointed
with lustral medicine by the doctor, he could return to his own hearth,
and resume intercourse with his wife.”120.2 In all such cases the
madness of the slayer is probably attributed to the ghost of the slain,
which has taken possession of him.
 That the Greek practice of secluding and
The custom of purifying a homicide was essentially an exorcism,
secluding and
purifying homicidesin other words, that its aim was to ban the
is intended to dangerous ghost of his victim, is rendered
protect them practically certain by the similar rites of seclusion
against the angry
and purification which among many savage tribes
spirits of the slain,
which are thought have to be observed by victorious warriors with the
to madden their
slayers.
avowed intention of securing them against the
spirits of the men whom they have slain in battle.
These rites I have illustrated elsewhere,120.3 but a few cases may be
quoted here by way of example. Thus among the Basutos “ablution
is especially performed on return from battle. It is absolutely
necessary that the warriors should rid themselves, as soon as
possible, of the blood they have shed, or the shades of their victims
would pursue them incessantly, and disturb their slumbers. They go
in a procession, and in full armour, to the nearest stream. At the
moment they enter the water a diviner, placed higher up, throws
some purifying substances into the current.”120.4 According to
another account of the Basuto custom, “warriors who have killed an
enemy are purified. The chief has to wash them, sacrificing an ox in
the presence of the whole army. They are also anointed with the gall
of the animal, which prevents the ghost of the enemy from pursuing
them any farther.”121.1 Among the Thonga, a Bantu tribe of South
Africa, about Delagoa Bay, “to have killed an enemy on the battle-
field entails an immense glory for the slayers; but that glory is fraught
with great danger. They have killed.… So they are exposed to the
mysterious and deadly influence of the nuru and must consequently
undergo a medical treatment. What is the nuru? Nuru, the spirit of
the slain which tries to take its revenge on the slayer. It haunts him
and may drive him into insanity: his eyes swell, protrude and become
inflamed. He will lose his head, be attacked by giddiness
(ndzululwan) and the thirst for blood may lead him to fall upon
members of his own family and to stab them with his assagay. To
prevent such misfortunes, a special medication is required: the
slayers must lurulula tiyimpì ta bu, take away the nuru of their
sanguinary expedition.… In what consists this treatment? The
slayers must remain for some days at the capital. They are taboo.
They put on old clothes, eat with special spoons, because their
hands are ‘hot,’ and off special plates (mireko) and broken pots.
They are forbidden to drink water. Their food must be cold. The chief
kills oxen for them; but if the meat were hot it would make them swell
internally ‘because they are hot themselves, they are defiled (ba na
nsila).’ If they eat hot food, the defilement would enter into them.
‘They are black (ntima). This black must be removed.’ During all this
time sexual relations are absolutely forbidden to them. They must
not go home, to their wives. In former times the Ba-Ronga used to
tattoo them with special marks from one eyebrow to the other.
Dreadful medicines were inoculated in the incisions, and there
remained pimples ‘which gave them the appearance of a buffalo
when it frowns.’ After some days a medicine-man comes to purify
them, ‘to remove their black.’ There seem to be various means of
doing it, according to Mankhelu. Seeds of all kinds are put into a
broken pot and roasted, together with drugs and psanyi122.1 of a
goat. The slayers inhale the smoke which emanates from the pot.
They put their hands into the mixture and rub their limbs with it,
especially the joints.… Insanity threatening those who shed blood
might begin early. So, already on the battle-field, just after their deed,
warriors are given a preventive dose of the medicine by those who
have killed on previous occasions.… The period of seclusion having
been concluded by the final purification, all the implements used by
the slayers during these days, and their old garments, are tied
together and hung by a string to a tree, at some distance from the
capital, where they are left to rot.”122.2
The accounts of the madness which is apt to
With some savages befall slayers seem too numerous and too
temporary insanity
seems to be really consistent to be dismissed as pure fictions of the
caused by the sight savage imagination. However we may reject the
or even thought of native explanation of such fits of frenzy, the
blood.
reports point to a real berserker fury or unbridled
thirst for blood which comes over savages when they are excited by
combat, and which may prove dangerous to friends as well as to
foes. The question is one on which students of mental disease might
perhaps throw light. Meantime it deserves to be noticed that even
the people who have staid at home and have taken no share in the
bloody work are liable to fall into a state of frenzy when they hear the
war-whoops which proclaim the approach of the victorious warriors
with their ghastly trophies. Thus we are told that among the Bare’e-
speaking Toradjas of Central Celebes, when these notes of triumph
were heard in the distance the whole population of the village would
turn out to meet and welcome the returning braves. At the mere
sound some of those who had remained at home, especially women,
would be seized with a frenzy, and rushing forth would bite the
severed heads of the slain foes, and they were not to be brought to
their senses till they had drunk palm wine or water out of the skulls. If
the warriors returned empty-handed, these furies would fall upon
them and bite their arms. There was a regular expression for this
state of temporary insanity excited by the sight or even the thought
of human blood; it was called merata lamoanja or merata raoa, “the
spirit is come over them,” by which was probably meant that the
madness was caused by the ghosts of the slaughtered foes. When
any of the warriors themselves suffered from this paroxysm of frenzy,
they were healed by eating a piece of the brains or licking the blood
of the slain.123.1
Among the Bantu tribes of Kavirondo, in British
Means taken by East Africa, when a man has killed an enemy in
manslayers in
Africa to rid warfare he shaves his head on his return home,
themselves of the and his friends rub a medicine, which generally
ghosts of their consists of cow’s dung, over his body to prevent
victims.
the spirit of the slain man from troubling him.123.2
Here cow’s dung serves these negroes as a detergent of the ghost,
just as pig’s blood served the ancient Greeks. Among the Wawanga,
about Mount Elgon in British East Africa, “a man returning from a
raid, on which he has killed one of the enemy, may not enter his hut
until he has taken cow-dung and rubbed it on the cheeks of the
women and children of the village and purified himself by the
sacrifice of a goat, a strip of skin from the forehead of which he
wears round the right wrist during the four following nights.”123.3 With
the Ja-Luo of Kavirondo the custom is somewhat different. Three
days after his return from the fight the warrior shaves his head. But
before he may enter his village he has to hang a live fowl, head
uppermost, round his neck; then the bird is decapitated and its head
left hanging round his neck. Soon after his return a feast is made for
the slain man, in order that his ghost may not haunt his slayer.123.4 In
some of these cases the slayer shaves his head, precisely as the
matricide Orestes is said to have shorn his hair when he came to his
senses.123.5 From this Greek tradition we may infer with some
probability that the hair of Greek homicides, like that of these African
warriors, was regularly cropped as one way of ridding them of the
ghostly infection. Among the Ba-Yaka, a Bantu people of the Congo
Free State, “a man who has been killed in battle is supposed to send
his soul to avenge his death on the person of the man who killed
him; the latter, however, can escape the vengeance of the dead by
wearing the red tail-feathers of the parrot in his hair, and painting his
forehead red.”124.1 Perhaps, as I have suggested elsewhere, this
costume is intended to disguise the slayer from his victim’s
ghost.124.2 Among the Natchez Indians of North
Precautions taken
by the Natchez
America young braves who had taken their first
Indians. scalps were obliged to observe certain rules of
abstinence for six months. They might not sleep
with their wives nor eat flesh; their only food was fish and hasty-
pudding. If they broke these rules they believed that the soul of the
man they had killed would work their death by magic.124.3
The Kai of German New Guinea stand in great
Ghosts of the slain fear of the ghosts of the men whom they have
dreaded by the Kai
of German New slain in war. On their way back from the field of
Guinea. battle or the scene of massacre they hurry in order
to be safe at home or in the shelter of a friendly
village before nightfall; for all night long the spirits of the dead are
believed to dog the footsteps of their slayers, in the hope of coming
up with them and recovering the lost portions of their souls which
adhere with the clots of their blood to the spears and clubs that dealt
them the death-blow. Only so can these poor restless ghosts find
rest and peace. Hence the slayers are careful not to bring back the
blood-stained weapons with them into the village; for that would be
the first place where the ghosts would look for them. They hide them,
therefore, in the forest at a safe distance from the village, where the
ghosts can never find them; and when the spirits are weary of the