Comments on: Do sonic booms occur only once when an aircraft exceeds the sound barrier, or are they relative…?

By: Techwing

Techwing — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:29:59 +0000

The listener’s position is not a factor. Anything moving through the air at a speed greater than the speed of sound will create a shock wave that can be heard as a sonic boom. When people think about sonic booms, they usually think about supersonic aircraft, but shock waves and sonic booms can also be produced by explosives (including firecrackers), some types of bullets and projectiles, lightning strokes, and even the tip of a cracked whip.

Most supersonic aircraft produce two shock waves (and thus two sonic booms), one at the front of the aircraft and one at the rear.
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By: Tracy L

Tracy L — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:57:59 +0000

Think of the BOOM as a wake following a boat! That way you can envision the wave generated by the aircraft. Its the wave that makes the noise on the ground. (not fully the scientific answer but the easy way to envision the boom effect.)
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TL

By: JetMech

JetMech — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:50:59 +0000

To add to what Capt J said, and in answer to what you asked, I think the former is true. If there was a person standing at every mile along a ten mile long line, each person would hear a sonic boom as the super-sonic aircraft passed their relative position. If they all wore headsets tuned to the same radio frequency, they would hear all ten sonic booms.
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By: Captain J

Captain J — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:10:59 +0000

An aircraft traveling at the speed of sound will create two(2) sonic booms, at the forward and aft ends of the aircraft. They are so close to each other that it’s hard to distinguish more than one boom.

The "booms" are relative… standing in any given location, you’ll just hear the boom and that will be it. But it is a continuous traveling sound wave that will continue with the aircraft for as long as it’s traveling supersonic.

So, lets say you were standing at point A. If you heard a boom at point A, then instantly traveled to point B just before the aircraft flew by, you would hear another boom.
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