Comments on: Why is it that a subsonic aircraft cannot produce a sonic boom? http://pennbradoilmuseum.com/boom/why-is-it-that-a-subsonic-aircraft-cannot-produce-a-sonic-boom Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:02:59 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: PRyder2000 http://pennbradoilmuseum.com/boom/why-is-it-that-a-subsonic-aircraft-cannot-produce-a-sonic-boom/comment-page-1#comment-3994 PRyder2000 Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:23:59 +0000 http://pennbradoilmuseum.com/boom/why-is-it-that-a-subsonic-aircraft-cannot-produce-a-sonic-boom#comment-3994 Sound is a pressure wave. As an object moves through the air, the pressure wave propagates ahead of it. If the object starts traveling faster than the pressure wave, then the wave will build up in front of it, and produce a high pressure wake behind it. To illustrate this, it's similar to a boat traveling quickly through the water. If it travels faster than the waves it produces, then you get a huge wake, which will be familiar to anyone who enjoys sailing, but are plagued by the presence of power boats. This wake is the same as the sonic boom. It doesn't occur if you're not traveling faster than the speed of sound.<br><b>References : </b><br> Sound is a pressure wave.

As an object moves through the air, the pressure wave propagates ahead of it.

If the object starts traveling faster than the pressure wave, then the wave will build up in front of it, and produce a high pressure wake behind it.

To illustrate this, it’s similar to a boat traveling quickly through the water. If it travels faster than the waves it produces, then you get a huge wake, which will be familiar to anyone who enjoys sailing, but are plagued by the presence of power boats.

This wake is the same as the sonic boom. It doesn’t occur if you’re not traveling faster than the speed of sound.
References :

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