Sonic Boom

sound · speed · physics

Breaking the sound barrier. When an object like a jet plane zooms through the air faster than sound travels (about 761 miles per hour), it creates shock waves that bunch up in front of it like an invisible wall.

Incredibly loud noise. These shock waves release enormous amounts of sound energy all at once, creating a boom so powerful it sounds like an explosion or a massive thunderclap that can rattle windows and startle people miles away.

Happens with jets. Jet planes are the most famous makers of sonic booms, especially when they first push past the speed of sound, which pilots call 'breaking the sound barrier.'

The speed of sound. Sound travels at different speeds depending on temperature and what it's moving through, but in normal air it goes about 1,100 feet per second, or 761 miles per hour.

Shock waves pile up. The object is moving so fast that it actually catches up to its own sound waves and pushes them together, creating a cone-shaped shock wave that trails behind like an invisible pyramid.