Ramjet

A ramjet is an air-breathing jet engine that compresses incoming air through forward motion, burns fuel in the compressed airflow, and produces thrust without a rotating compressor.

Ram pressure: Pressure rise produced when moving fluid is brought to rest or slowed in a flow. The engine’s forward speed creates the inlet pressure rise that replaces a compressor.
Newton's laws of motion: Three classical laws relating an object's motion to forces and interactions. They provide the momentum framework for understanding thrust and vehicle acceleration.
Turbojet: A gas-turbine engine that compresses air with a rotating compressor and produces thrust through a hot exhaust. Unlike a ramjet, it carries a compressor and turbine and can produce static thrust.
Lockheed D-21: An uncrewed reconnaissance aircraft designed to fly at high supersonic speed using a ramjet. It is a prominent operational example of a ramjet-powered vehicle.
Supersonic diffuser: A duct that slows supersonic flow while raising its static pressure, often through shocks. It decelerates high-speed inlet air before combustion.
Mach number: The ratio of an object's speed to the local speed of sound. Ramjet inlet behavior and operating limits depend strongly on flight Mach number.
Scramjet: A supersonic-combustion ramjet that keeps airflow supersonic through its combustor. It extends ramjet operation to higher speeds by avoiding full subsonic deceleration.
BrahMos: A supersonic cruise missile developed jointly by India and Russia. Its propulsion system uses a ramjet for sustained supersonic cruise.
Combustor: An engine chamber where fuel burns in a flowing oxidizer to add thermal energy. Fuel burns in the ramjet’s subsonic airflow after inlet compression.
Shock wave: A thin region in a compressible flow where pressure, temperature, and density change abruptly. Supersonic ramjet inlets use shocks to slow and compress incoming air.

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