3 ms·
It is almost perfect adiabatic process. Or the ionization helps to heat even further?
by venomsnake 12y ago
It is almost perfect adiabatic process. Or the ionization helps to heat even further?
- WalterBright 12y agoWhen gas is compressed, it heats up. Moving rapidly through the air compresses the air in front, so it heats up. It's as simple as that. The ionization has nothing to do with it, though that probably reduces the heat slightly as it takes energy to ionize a gas.
- TheLoneWolfling 12y agoIonization actually reduces the effective temperature massively - from O(v^2) to O(v) at high (read: re-entry-like) velocities.