Question

Shock waves can be normal, oblique and bow.

(a) True

(b) False

I had been asked this question by my school principal while I was bunking the class.

My question comes from Velocity of Sound or Pressure Wave in a Fluid topic in section Compressible Flow of Fluid Mechanics

Answer 1

Right option is (a) True

Easiest explanation: Shock waves can be at normal angles, oblique angles and bow angles. Normal angle is perpendicular to the shock medium’s flow direction. Oblique angle is at the direction of flow. Bow occurs at the front of the object.