A sonic boom is a thunder like sound that can only be heard on the ground. A sonic boom is a shock wave created by an airplane or another aerospace object flying equal to or greater than the speed of sound. A physicist named Ernst Mach established a way to measure airspeed to the speed of sound. (Wonderpolis pg.2). Mach 1 is when you are flying at the speed of sound and
Mach 2 is twice the speed of sound. If you are on an aircraft and a sonic boom happened, you wouldn't hear it. The reason that you wouldn’t hear it is because the boom carpet unrolls behind the plane (Wonderpolis pg.2).
When the …show more content…
The molecules are forcefully moved to the side creating the shock wave. The pressure waves are mostly found at the rear and extends from the craft in the form of a widening cone. This cone is called the Mach cone (Britannica pg.1). To better draw a picture of how the shock waves, look, it is like that wake that is created by a boat in the water.
The following are a few factors that influence sonic booms: size and weight of the airplane; altitude and atmospheric conditions. An airplane that is light and slender, the weaker the shock waves. Conversely, the fatter and blunter the airplane, the stronger the shock waves can be. The altitude determines the distance the shock waves travel before getting to the ground.
An airplane that is at a higher altitude will have a less intense sonic boom because the shock waves must travel farther. The atmosphere is also a cause of a sonic boom. The air temperature and wind both influence the strength of the shock waves. For example, if it is windy the plane won’t be able to travel as fast. Therefore, there wouldn’t be a big sonic boom.
In conclusion a sonic boom is a loud thunder like sound. A sonic boom is created by the air pressure between an object and the air. When the object is moving at or faster than the