Its operation relies on the different properties of gases flowing at subsonic, sonic, and supersonic speeds. The speed of a subsonic flow of gas will increase if the pipe carrying it narrows because the mass flow rate is constant. The gas flow through a de Laval nozzle is isentropic (gas entropy is nearly constant). In a subsonic flow, sound will propagate through the gas. At the "throat", where the cross-sectional area is at its minimum, the gas velocity locally becomes sonic (Mach number = 1.0), a condition called choked flow. As the nozzle cross-sectional area increases, the gas begins to expand, and the flow increases to supersonic velocities, where a sound wave will not propagate backward through the gas as viewed in the frame of reference of the nozzle (Mach number > 1.0).