Simulating Supersonic Fluid Flows in the Student Aerodynamics Lab - Dr Oleg Goushcha, Manhattan College

When learning about fluid dynamics, physics and engineering students can benefit greatly from hands-on experiments that allow them to visualise the equations they learn in lectures. For supersonic flows, however, the equipment required is incredibly expensive, making some experiments inaccessible to many universities. Dr Oleg Goushcha at Manhattan College has revived an old methodology to demonstrate supersonic flows in the classroom using far more affordable equipment. He has shown that the features seen in supersonic can be accurately simulated through an inexpensive setup involving water surface waves.