Could a pilot break the sound barrier at 1620km in 5 seconds?

Question

Early jet pilots were obsessed with breaking the sound barrier, the speed of sound. The pilot would need to reach exceed the speed of sound, 340 km/s. If a jet pilot traveled 1620km in 5 seconds, would the pilot break the sound barrier?

Early jet pilots were obsessed with breaking the sound barrier, the speed of sound. The pilot would need to reach exceed the speed of sound, 340 km/s. If a jet pilot traveled 1620km in 5 seconds, would the pilot break the sound barrier?

How would this be proven wit hthe average speed formula?

Answer 1

You're asking a math problem. What you want is the instantaneous value of speed. How you measure that is virtually immaterial. If it goes 763 mph at sea level on the defined standard day, it passes through the sonic barrier. It wasn't just jet pilots, by the way. P-51 and Hellcat pilots exceeded mach 1 in dives during WW II. Not often, but it happened, usually when the enemy was shooting at them.

Late note: It is amazing to me the lack of understanding of "G" forces. For the gentlman whose answer is below mine, I would point out that there is virtually no g force involved in penetration of the sound barrier. Assuming straight and level flight during penetration, the only force felt would be acceleration, very mild indeed. Having personally flown well in excess of mach 2.5 on many occasions, I can assure you this is true.

Answer 2

Too much of confusion here.
First the speed of sound is around 340 meters/second, not kilometers/second. This translates to around 20 kilometers per minute.

If we use the given speed of 1620 KILOMETERS in 5 seconds (meaning 1620 * 12 = 19,440 KILOMETERS per MINUTE) its approximately Mach 972 near ground level ! You bet its breaking the sound barrier !

Now if it was a typo and its 1620 METERS in 5 seconds (324 meter per second, steady speed), the aircraft as a whole is yet to break the sound barrier if the speed of sound is assumed to be 340 METERS/second at that altitude.

Another possibility is the aircraft covering 1620 meters in 5 seconds with ACCELERATIONS involved. Then we would need the initial velocity for further calculations.

Life would have been more easier if the proper data was provided.

Answer 3

The speed of sound is not a fixed point. Yes the 'sound barrier' was feared by many, and some daring or just lunatic people raced to attain or reach it.
Sound needs a harmonic medium for it to work. There is no sound in Space.
Different sound wave speeds in Troposphere and Stratosphere.
It could be done, absolutely, but just like the nuts that found it and passed it, could be a fast death. The plane or jet or rocket can reach that speed easily, but a manned thing might be to many Gs on a human body to stay in one piece.
This site explains it better than I can.
passage through the air at speed greater than the local velocity of sound. The speed of sound (Mach 1) varies with atmospheric pressure and temperature: in air at a temperature of 15 °C (59 °F) and sea-level pressure, sound travels at about 1,225 km (760 miles) per hour. At speeds beyond about five times the velocity of sound (Mach 5), the term hypersonic flight is employed. An object traveling through the Earth's atmosphere at supersonic speed generates a sonic boom—i.e., a shock wave heard on the ground as a sound like a loud explosion.
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9070404
Alot of factors in that. But anything is possible. So sure.

Answer 4

Your units are off by a factor of 1000. The approximate speed of sound is 330 meters/second, not kilometers.