What happens during a sonic boom?

Answer 1

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 object 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. In smooth flight, the shock wave starts at the nose of the aircraft and ends at the tail. Because directions around the aircraft's direction of travel are equivalent, the shock forms a cone with the aircraft at its tip. The half-angle (between direction of flight and the shock wave ) A is given by sin(A) = 1/M, where M is the plane's Mach number. So the faster it goes, the finer, more pointed the cone. There is a sudden rise in pressure at the nose, decreasing steadily to a negative pressure at the tail, followed by a sudden return to normal pressure after the object passes. This "overpressure profile" is known as an N-wave because of its shape. The "boom" is experienced when there is a sudden change in pressure, so the N-wave causes two booms, one when the initial pressure rise from the nose hits, and another when the tail passes and the pressure suddenly returns to normal. This leads to a distinctive "double boom" from supersonic aircraft. When maneuvering, the pressure distribution changes into different forms, with a characteristic U-wave shape. Since the boom is being generated continually as long as the aircraft is supersonic, it fills out a narrow path on the ground following the aircraft's flight path, a bit like an unrolling celebrity carpet and hence known as the boom carpet. Its width depends on the altitude of the aircraft. [2] The distance of the point on the ground where the boom is heard to the aircraft depends on its altitude and the angle A.

Answer 2

A sonic boom is a loud sound created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. The boom occurs when the object breaks the sound barrier and the shock waves merge together, creating a pressure wave. This wave produces the characteristic booming sound that is heard on the ground.

Answer 3

It's made when a plane or other object goes faster than the seed of sound, like 700mph or something

Answer 4

It comes from the fuel that was combusted in the engine of

the craft that rammed its way through air faster than sound.

Answer 5

A deafening BOOM!!!