Downloaded by RMIT BUNDOORA LIBRARY on August 15, 2015 | http://arc.aiaa.org | Downloaded by RMIT BUNDOORA LIBRARY on August 15, 2015 | http://arc.aiaa.org | Abstract Aerothermodynamics: What is it? What are the important physical phenomena associated with this term? What are the consequences?These and other questions are addressed in this paper in a purely tutorial fashion. The high-temperature chemically reacting flowfields around hypersonic bodies are the primary focus. Aspects of flows in which the transport mechanisms of viscosity, thermal conduction, and mass diffusion are neglected (inviscid flows), as well as those in which these transport phenomena are included (viscous flows), are discussed. Finally, the distinction between equilibrium and nonequilibrium chemically reacting flows is highlighted.