A sonic boom is the sound we hear when a supersonic aircraft passes through the sound barrier, at a speed known as Mach 1. It is the sound associated with the shock waves created when an object, most commonly an aircraft, travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. The air the aircraft displaces around it creates a series of so-called ‘pressure waves’, which, as the aircraft gathers speed. compress to make a single wave. This wave travels at approximately 761mph. When the aircraft exceeds this speed, it passes through this single wave and that’s when we hear the loud explosion associated with sonic booms – the aircraft is breaking through the shockwave It is, therefore, breaking the sound barrier.
In the following video, we see many examples of aircraft smashing through the sound barrier. This phenomenon was only made possible with the invention of the turbojet engine. This new piece of technology – developed by the British in World War II by engineer Frank Whittle – allowed aircraft to travel at speeds hitherto unachievable by the fighter planes of the time such as the Supermarine Spitfire and the Messerschmitt 109. With the dawning of the jet age, not only were we able to travel huge distances in sleek new passenger airplanes, but the era of the sonic boom was born.
And as you’ll see from the following mind-blowing footage, it’s pretty impressive stuff …
