Kilometers per Second to Mach Number Converter

What Are Kilometers per Second?

Kilometers per second are a measurement of speed expressing the distance traveled in kilometers in one second.

The kilometer per second, or kilometre per second, is an SI unit of speed in the metric system. Kilometers per second can be abbreviated as km/s, and are also sometimes abbreviated as km/sec. For example, 1 kilometer per second can be written as 1 km/s or 1 km/sec.

In the expressions of units, the slash, or solidus (/), is used to express a change in one or more units relative to a change in one or more other units.^[1] For example, km/s is expressing a change in length or distance relative to a change in time.

Kilometers per second can be expressed using the formula:
v_km/s = d_km / t_sec

The velocity in kilometers per second is equal to the distance in kilometers divided by time in seconds.

Learn more about kilometers per second.

What Is Mach Number?

Mach, sometimes also referred to as a Mach number, is the ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound.^[2]

Mach can be abbreviated as M, and is also sometimes abbreviated as Ma. For example, Mach 1 can be written as 1 M or 1 Ma.

Although Mach can be abbreviated M or Ma, the Mach number is typically expressed with the number after the unit name. For example, the expression Mach 3 is preferred rather than 3 Machs or 3 M.

The speed is classified as either subsonic, transonic, supersonic, or hypersonic depending on the Mach number.

Learn more about Mach number.