Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
11:03

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids

Published on: December 4, 2017

Nonequilibrium molecular motion in a hypersonic shock wave

G Pham-Van-Diep, D Erwin, E P Muntz

    Science (New York, N.Y.)
    |August 11, 1989
    PubMed

    More Related Videos

    Conducting Elevated Temperature Normal and Combined Pressure-Shear Plate Impact Experiments Via a Breech-end Sabot Heater System10:52

    Conducting Elevated Temperature Normal and Combined Pressure-Shear Plate Impact Experiments Via a Breech-end Sabot Heater System

    Published on: August 7, 2018

    Blast Quantification Using Hopkinson Pressure Bars09:41

    Blast Quantification Using Hopkinson Pressure Bars

    Published on: July 5, 2016

    Related Concept Videos

    Shock Waves01:16

    Shock Waves

    While deriving the Doppler formula for the observed frequency of a sound wave, it is assumed that the speed of sound in the medium is greater than the source's speed through it. When this condition is breached, a shock wave occurs.
    When the source's speed approaches the speed of sound, constructive interference between successive wavefronts emitted by the source occurs immediately behind it. Initially, scientists believed that this constructive interference would result in such high pressures...
    Distribution of Molecular Speeds01:27

    Distribution of Molecular Speeds

    The motion of molecules in a gas is random in magnitude and direction for individual molecules, but a gas of many molecules has a predictable distribution of molecular speeds. This predictable distribution of molecular speeds is known as the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. The distribution of molecular speeds in liquids is comparable to that of gases but not identical and can help to understand the phenomenon of the boiling and vapor pressure of a liquid. Consider that a molecule requires a...
    Velocity and Acceleration of a Wave00:51

    Velocity and Acceleration of a Wave

    A wave propagates through a medium with a constant speed, known as a wave velocity. It is different from the speed of the particles of the medium, which is not constant. In addition, the velocity of the medium is perpendicular to the velocity of the wave. The variable speed of the particles of the medium implies that there must be acceleration associated with it. 
    The velocity of the particles can be obtained by taking the partial derivative of the position equation with respect to time. We can...
    Molecular Kinetic Energy01:21

    Molecular Kinetic Energy

    The word "gas" comes from the Flemish word meaning "chaos," first used to describe vapors by the chemist J. B. van Helmont. Consider a container filled with gas, with a continuous and random motion of molecules. During collisions, the velocity component parallel to the wall is unchanged, and the component perpendicular to the wall reverses direction but does not change in magnitude. If the molecule’s velocity changes in the x-direction, then its momentum is changed. During the short time of the...
    Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution: Problem Solving01:20

    Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution: Problem Solving

    Individual molecules in a gas move in random directions, but a gas containing numerous molecules has a predictable distribution of molecular speeds, which is known as the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, f(v).
    This distribution function f(v) is defined by saying that the expected number N (v1,v2) of particles with speeds between v1 and v2 is given by
    Equations of Wave Motion01:02

    Equations of Wave Motion

    Mathematically, the motion of a wave can be studied using a wavefunction. Consider a string oscillating up and down in simple harmonic motion, having a period T. The wave on the string is sinusoidal and is translated in the positive x-direction as time progresses. Sine is a function of the angle θ, oscillating between +A and −A and repeating every 2π radians. To construct a wave model, the ratio of the angle θ and the position x is considered.