Comments on: What invention first broke the sound barrier?

By: Earth Man

Earth Man — Thu, 13 May 2010 05:11:59 +0000

You are incorrect. The slings of Biblical times, and not even modern slings, never come close to the speed of breaking the sound barrier. Thus, the bullwhip was the first invention to break the sound barrier. In the right hands, the tip can reach speeds up to 30x the speed of the initial motion.

The first modern inventions to break the sound barrier were Nazi V-2 test rockets fired from the island of Peenemünde in the Baltic Sea. The research and development rockets were known as A-4s. Incidentally, reaching up to 60+ miles, they were the first objects to leave the atmosphere and go into space (even though they came right back down).

But it was the whip.
References :
Geologist, and I know about military stuff.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 13 May 2010 04:54:59 +0000

Modern slingshots which were developed and widely used by the IRA were only capable of 40 m/s which is no where near the sound barrier. If they could break the sound barrier then David wouldn’t have been an underdog, he would’ve blown Goliath’s head clean off haha. The bullwhip is widely recognized as the first invention to break the sound barrier
References :

By: Khamsin

Khamsin — Thu, 13 May 2010 04:17:59 +0000

Not necessarily- and there aren’t recorded dates of each invention’s date of invention.

I’d really say it’s the whip.
References :