The exhaust of a Pratt and Whitney J58 shines with Mach diamonds, a series of shock waves and expansion fans that form to equalize the exhaust and ambient pressures. This Keep reading
Tag: diamond-shaped exhaust
Rocket Exhaust
This image of the Apollo 11 launch shows the Saturn V’s underexpanded nozzle (identifiable by the excessive width of the exhaust jet) shortly after liftoff. The faint diamond shape of Keep reading
Mach Diamonds
Joe asks: Why does this rocket have that repeating pattern in its exhaust? I’m amazed that it’s so stable for so far as distance from the nozzle. Excellent question! The Keep reading