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ArtistElectric Wind Below the warhead lies a vast, boundless ocean of air. Rotating slowly—almost imperceptibly—due to the residual effects of separation, the warhead continues its descent along a shallow trajectory. Then, it encounters the Earth's atmosphere, which is still extremely rarefied at this altitude. It must be remembered that the warhead is traveling at speeds around Mach 20. Consequently, molecules in the oncoming airflow are literally shattered by the warhead's cone into electrically charged fragments (plasma); impact ionization of the air occurs. Visually, this manifests as a trailing wake of pale, blue-white luminescence. This wake reaches staggering temperatures, yet it does not scorch the warhead at this stage because the air remains too thin. This plasma wind is known as a high-Mach hypersonic flow. Due to the extreme thinness of the air, the wake is barely visible during the initial seconds. As it intensifies and grows denser with the warhead's deeper penetration into the atmosphere, the flow initially exerts more heat than pressure on the vehicle. Gradually, however, it begins to compress the cone with increasing force. The flow pivots the warhead so that its tip faces forward. This reorientation does not happen instantly; the cone oscillates slightly back and forth—with the amplitude of these swings gradually diminishing—before finally stabilizing.
Electric Wind
Below the warhead lies a vast, boundless ocean of air. Rotating slowly—almost imperceptibly—due to the residual effects of separation, the warhead continues its descent along a shallow trajectory. Then, it encounters the Earth's atmosphere, which is still extremely rarefied at this altitude. It must be remembered that the warhead is traveling at speeds around Mach 20. Consequently, molecules in the oncoming airflow are literally shattered by the warhead's cone into electrically charged fragments (plasma); impact ionization of the air occurs. Visually, this manifests as a trailing wake of pale, blue-white luminescence. This wake reaches staggering temperatures, yet it does not scorch the warhead at this stage because the air remains too thin. This plasma wind is known as a high-Mach hypersonic flow.
Due to the extreme thinness of the air, the wake is barely visible during the initial seconds. As it intensifies and grows denser with the warhead's deeper penetration into the atmosphere, the flow initially exerts more heat than pressure on the vehicle. Gradually, however, it begins to compress the cone with increasing force. The flow pivots the warhead so that its tip faces forward. This reorientation does not happen instantly; the cone oscillates slightly back and forth—with the amplitude of these swings gradually diminishing—before finally stabilizing.