Pressure:

What pressure is and how it works is so fundamental to the

understanding of aerodynamics. There are two ways to look at
pressure:
 Action of individual air molecules(using kinetic theory of gases)
 The action of a large number of molecules.
By definition, Pressure is defined as the normal force per unit area.
𝐹
𝑃=
𝐴
Unit of pressure is N/m2 ,Bar, Pascal.
Pressure is a Scalar quantity (i.e. it has only magnitude not the
direction)
A gas is composed of a large number of
molecules that are very small relative to
the distance between molecules.

The molecules of a gas are in

constant, random motion and
frequently collide with each other
and with the walls of any
container.

The molecules possess the

physical properties of mass, momentum, and energy.
The momentum of a single molecule is the product of its mass and
velocity,
Momentum P=m×v
As the gas molecules collide with the walls of a
container, the molecules impart momentum to
the walls, producing a force perpendicular to
the wall.

The sum of the forces of all the molecules striking the wall divided by
the area of the wall is defined to be the pressure.
The pressure of a gas is then a measure of the average linear
momentum of the moving molecules of a gas. The pressure acts
perpendicular (normal) to the wall.
The tangential (shear) component of the force is the shear stress.
If the gas as a whole is moving, the measured pressure is different in
the direction of the motion. The ordered motion of the gas produces an
ordered component of the momentum in the direction of the motion.
We associate an additional pressure component, called dynamic
pressure, with this fluid momentum.
The pressure measured in the direction of the motion is called the total
pressure and is equal to the sum of the static and dynamic pressures
described by Bernoulli's equation.
Density:
An important property of any gas is its density. Understanding density
and how it works is fundamental to the understanding of rocket
aerodynamics.
Density is defined as the mass of an object per unit volume. We know
that some objects are heavier than other objects, even though they are
the same size.
Density is a scalar quantity. Its unit is kg/m3
Different materials have different density. For example aluminum is
less dense than iron. That is why airplanes, rockets, and some
automobile parts are made from aluminum. For the same volume of
material, one metal weighs less than another does if it has a lower
density.
For solids, the density remains constant because the molecules are
tightly bound. For example, a pure silver coin on the earth weighs same
as in the moon.
However, for gases, the density can vary over a wide range because the
molecules are free to move. Air at the sea level is different from the air
at the stratosphere.
A gas is composed of a large number of molecules that are very small
relative to the distance between molecules. The molecules are in
constant, random motion and frequently collide with each other and
with the walls of a container. Because the molecules are in motion, a
gas will expand to fill the container. Density depends directly on the
size of the container in which a fixed mass of gas is confined.
As a simple example, consider the figure. We have 10 molecules of a
mythical gas. Each molecule has a mass of 50 grams (.05 kilograms), so
the mass of this gas is .05 kg. We have confined this gas in a rectangular
tube that is 1 meter on each side and 3 meters high. We are viewing
the tube from the front, so the dimension into the slide is 1 meter for
all the cases considered. The volume of the tube is 3 cubic meters, so
the density is .16 kg/cubic meter.
Temperature:
An important property of any gas is temperature. An entire branch of
physics, called thermodynamics, is devoted to studying the
temperature of objects and the transfer of heat between objects of
different temperatures.

The molecules are in

constant, random motion and frequently collide with each other and
with the walls of any container. The molecules possess the physical
properties of mass, momentum, and energy. The momentum of a single
molecule is the product of its mass and velocity, while the kinetic
energy is one half the mass times the square of the velocity.
Unit is K, degree Celsius and degree farenheit.
Speed of sound:
The speed of "sound" is actually the speed of transmission of a small
disturbance through a medium. Sound itself is a sensation created in
the human brain in response to sensory inputs from the inner ear.
Disturbances are transmitted through a gas as a result
of collisions between the randomly moving molecules in the gas.
The conditions in the gas are the same before and after the disturbance
passes through. Because the speed of transmission depends on
molecular collisions, the speed of sound depends on the state of the
gas.
The speed of sound is a constant within a given gas and the value of the
constant depends on the type of gas (air, pure oxygen, carbon dioxide,
etc.) and the temperature of the gas.

Speed of sound =𝑎 = √𝛾𝑅𝑇