hypersonic
/hʌɪpəˈsɒnɪk
/adjective
1Relating to speeds of more than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5).In the case of X - 43, the thrust will propel the vehicle at hypersonic speeds up to Mach 10....
- The X - 43A is the first aircraft to reach hypersonic speeds using an air-breathing engine.
- He remembered the planning for hypersonic flight, faster than five times the speed of sound, leading up to the X - 15 program.
2Relating to sound frequencies above about a thousand million hertz.We've heard hypersonic sound.
Derivatives
hypersonically
- Indeed, humans have been flying hypersonically for over four decades.
- The space shuttle is coasting from a very high speed and high altitude when it flies hypersonically.
- The first shock wave is created as the air in the barrel is compressed by the front of the projectile as it travels hypersonically down the barrel.
Origin
1930s (in sense 2): from hyper- 'beyond, exceeding', on the pattern of supersonic and ultrasonic.