Abstract: | A system of equations describing the one-dimensional time-dependent polytropic motion of a gas is considered. In special cases the general solutions of this system of equations are obtained and exact solutions with the initial conditions which are periodic with respect to the spatial variable are found. For an arbitrary polytropic exponent an asymptotic solution, which is uniformly suitable till the onset of the gradient catastrophe, is constructed in the form of expansions in series in a small parameter, namely, the initial wave amplitude. Asymptotic dependences of the time of onset and the location of the gradient catastrophe are obtained. The complex correspondence between the initial system of equations and the system of equations describing the motion of quasi-gas media is given. An example of using this correspondence is considered. |