2007-11-05 00:28:17 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
I know that when the plane if flying it is going faster than the speed of sound. i think the boom is the sound catching up somehow!!!! sorry not very helpful hey?!
2007-11-05 00:30:54 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
I think the Doppler effect has something to do with it. The sound of the sonic boom happens because all the sound waves are being crunched together causing a loud bang, This usually occurs when the object exceeds a speed of 660mph (1,622 km/h) after that the soundwaves are behind the object.
2007-11-05 00:55:46 · answer #2 · answered by J 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is due to the shock wave that builds on the leading edge and trailing edge of the plane's wing (and other surfaces) - so there are usually 2 major shock waves from the aircraft. . As the plane increases in speed the shock wave increases in intensity until there is a bang as the air molecules are forcibly separated. This shock wave follows the plane and will trail across land (or sea) surfaces that it passes over. There is usually a double "bang" from the aircraft due to the 2 major shock waves. The shock wave is of high enough intensity to break windows so Concorde and military aircraft are not allowed to break the sound barrier over land in the UK.
2007-11-05 00:48:28 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is due to a shock wave. Whenever air is disturbed at a speed greater than the local speed of sound, a pressure discontinuity develops in the fluid approximation called a shock wave. In real gases, there is no true discontinuity, but a very rapid change in air pressure propagates that sounds like, well, boom!
2007-11-05 00:53:30 · answer #4 · answered by Dr. R 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Air ahead of the aircraft doesn't "know" that the aircraft is coming, because sound waves that would "tell" it cannot travel ahead of the aircraft. So the aircraft constantly hits undisturbed air, creating a shock wave. This is essentially a sudden step in pressure that travels away from the aircraft. When it reaches your ear, you hear it as a bang.
2007-11-05 05:48:42 · answer #5 · answered by James P 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
thinking of this on pure logic, i believe that it is acctually soundwaves crashing into each other, the sound of the object moving through space surpassing the speed of the soundwaves it is leaving behind would cause the previous soundwaves to collide with those being created at the point of breaking the sound barrier
I found a better way of describing my theory which turns out to be correct...
When an object passes through the air, it creates a series of pressure waves in front of it and behind it, similar to the bow and stern waves created by a boat. These waves travel at the speed of sound, and as the speed of the aircraft increases the waves are forced together, or compressed, because they cannot "get out of the way" of each other, eventually merging into a single shock wave at the speed of sound. This critical speed is known as Mach 1 and is approximately 1,225 kilometers per hour (761 mph) at sea level.
2007-11-05 00:37:32 · answer #6 · answered by cmbc587 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
when something (with engines) goes faster than sound, the noise the engines make does not travel as fast as the body itself, and gets concentrated behind the body, causing a sonic boom.
Refer to :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_boom
2007-11-05 00:34:37 · answer #7 · answered by My name's none of your busin 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_boom
2007-11-05 00:34:37 · answer #8 · answered by OzDonna 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋