Subsonic M < 1 Sonic M = 1 Supersonic M > 1 Transsonic 0.8 < M < 1.3 Hypersonic 5 < M < 10 Hypervelocity M > 10 and aboveAn objects that moves at less than Mach 1 sends out sound waves in front of itself. Upon reaching Mach 1, it meets its own sound (the sound barrier). Above Mach 1, the plane will penetrate this barrier, when it does so it is said to break the sound barrier. Upon breaking the sound barrier, a loud booming noise, known as a sonic boom can be heard.
The Mach number is named after Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach.