Numerical experiments have been performed on normal shock waves with Monte Carlo Direct Simulations (MCDS's) to investigate the validity of continuum theories at very low Mach numbers. Results from the Navier—Stokes and the Burnett equations are compared to MCDS's for both hard-sphere and Maxwell gases. It is found that the maximum-slope shock thicknesses are described equally well (within the MCDS computational scatter) by either of the continuum formulations for Mach numbers smaller than about 1.2. For Mach numbers greater than 1.2, the Burnett predictions are more accurate than the Navier—Stokes results. Temperature—density profile separations are best described by the Burnett equations for Mach numbers greater than about 1.3. At lower Mach numbers the MCDS scatter is too great to differentiate between the two continuum theories. For all Mach numbers above one, the shock shapes are more accurately described by the Burnett equations.
