sonic booms
Supersonic aircraft noise
A sonic boom is the explosive sound produced when an object travels faster than the speed of sound.
The shock wave created by supersonic aircraft, rockets, or other fast-moving objects reaches the ground as a sudden, thunder-like crack or double bang.
The fighter jet's sonic boom rattled windows across the valley.
Sonic booms cannot be heard by the pilot—they trail behind the aircraft.
- shockwavePropagating pressure disturbance
- pressure waveMoving compression through medium
- ConcordeSupersonic passenger aircraft
- overpressurePressure exceeding ambient levels
- Mach numberRatio to sonic velocity
aircraft · jet fighter · noise pollution · whip · Chuck Yeager · test pilot · aerodynamics · compression · amplitude · psychoacoustics · attenuation · Doppler effect · thunder · flight test · air show · resonance · deafening · fluid dynamics
- sound & wavesthunder, ultrasound, infrasound, sonar, echolocation
- sound phenomenaecho, echoes, reverb, resonance, reverberation
- Space CoastKennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, NASA, rocket launch, launch pad
- soundechoes, acoustics, vibrations, audio, volume
- air showsairshow, air show, aerial displays, Thunderbirds, Red Arrows
- natural wondersnorthern lights, aurora borealis, auroras, rainbows, Great Barrier Reef
sonic boomsstandstill
Total cessation of movement
slow motion · stasis · crawl · cruising speed · idle
sonic boomswhite noise
Constant random sound
background noise · ambient sound · lullaby · soothing sounds · birdsong
sound, boom, booming, booms, sonorous, sonic, resonate, boomed, supersonic