If you hear what sounds like a thunderclap, but there isn’t a cloud in the sky, the source of the noise might just be a sonic boom
But what exactly causes a sonic boom—and is it dangerous to be near one? To understand, you first need to think about air a bit like liquid.
When something—a space shuttle, say—accelerates to high speeds, it creates ripples of air molecules and sound that radiate outward in every direction, like a pebble dropped into a lake. However, as that object speeds up, the waves at the nose of the spacecraft start to pile up and compress rather than ripple outward. Meanwhile, waves of air and sound continue to push away from the sides and back of the ship, like the wake coming off a passing speed boat.
Interestingly, the size of the sonic boom carpet increases with the height of the object, to the tune of one mile per 1,000 feet of altitude. For example, NASAthat a plane traveling at 50,000 feet will create a sonic boom carpet that is 50 miles wide. Those directly beneath the path of the aircraft will experience the loudest parts of the boom, while those on the edges of the carpet will hear a much softer sound.
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