Shock wave Definition and 53 Threads

I would like to ask that what character does shock wave (not pressure wave ) play in the forming of a star from the interstellar cloud?

Im not sure if this is the right forum for this question as I am unsure where it fits. I always think of a Shock Wave as something that travels through a medium, as in a sonic boom from an aircraft, but some talk of shock waves in space, as in the shock wave from a supernova, is this the...

Ok, imagine this experiment: I am in Mars, inside of a supersonic storm. There is a small sphere standing inside the incident flow, and I am in a laboratory viewing the shock wave caused by the sphere. I have some pressure measurements of the flow, (i.e around of the sphere surfice), so I can...