Editing Shock wave (section)

=== Bow shock (detached shock) ===
{{Main|Bow shock (aerodynamics)}}
* These shocks are curved and form a small distance in front of the body. Directly in front of the body, they stand at 90 degrees to the oncoming flow and then curve around the body. Detached shocks allow the same type of analytic calculations as for the attached shock, for the flow near the shock. They are a topic of continuing interest, because the rules governing the shock's distance ahead of the blunt body are complicated and are a function of the body's shape. Additionally, the shock standoff distance varies drastically with the temperature for a non-ideal gas, causing large differences in the heat transfer to the thermal protection system of the vehicle. See the extended discussion on this topic at [[atmospheric reentry]]. These follow the "strong-shock" solutions of the analytic equations, meaning that for some oblique shocks very close to the deflection angle limit, the downstream Mach number is subsonic. See also [[Bow shock (aerodynamics)|bow shock]] or [[oblique shock]].
* Such a shock occurs when the maximum deflection angle is exceeded. A detached shock is commonly seen on blunt bodies, but may also be seen on sharp bodies at low Mach numbers.
* Examples: Space return vehicles (Apollo, Space shuttle), bullets, the boundary ([[bow shock]]) of a [[magnetosphere]]. The name "bow shock" comes from the example of a [[bow wave]], the detached shock formed at the bow (front) of a ship or boat moving through water, whose slow surface wave speed is easily exceeded (see [[ocean surface wave]]).