Sonic Boom

• A sonic boom rattled US’s Washington and Virginia after two F-16 fighter jets chased an “unresponsive aircraft” through the sky.

ABOUT SONIC BOOM-

• A sonic boom is a thunderous noise caused by an object, like an aircraft, moving faster than the speed of sound.
• Mechanism– As the object zooms through the sky, the air molecules around it are pushed aside with tremendous force, generating shock waves along its flight path.
  • The release of pressure, following the shock waves’ buildup, is heard as the sonic boom.
• The intensity of the sonic boom is determined by
  • the distance between the craft and the ground,
  • size and shape of the aircraft,
  • types of maneuvers that it makes, and
  • atmospheric pressure, temperature, and winds.
• Generally, a larger aircraft will cause stronger shock waves, and therefore, a louder sonic boom.
  • Double sonic booms can be detected if the aircraft is of extra length, one emanating from the leading edge of the plane and one from the trailing edge.