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From: arlan@inuxm.UUCP (A Andrews)
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Subject: RE: Shuttle sonic booms
Message-ID: <312@inuxm.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Dec-85 08:59:05 EST
Article-I.D.: inuxm.312
Posted: Tue Dec 17 08:59:05 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 18-Dec-85 03:16:02 EST
References: <600@riccb.UUCP> <1300014@uok.UUCP> <815@umd5.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Consumer Products, Indianapolis
Lines: 39

> > 
> > I remember reading in one of my physics classes that there are always two
> > shock cones, one from the nose and one from the back (but not the tail).
> > Normally you don't hear both of them because at low mach speeds (relatively)
> > the time delay between shocks is so short they seem like only one. However,
> > the shuttle is moving so fast that there is a noticable delay, until of 
> > course it has slowed to the slower speeds.
> > 
> > taylor culpepper          uokvax!uok!tcculpep
> > univ. of oklahoma
> > 
> 
> 'cuse me if I sound nit-picky to you, but one can't HEAR a sonic boom
> because by the very nature of the phenomena it is SUPERSONIC.
> 
> One does sense the window-rattling abrupt changes in air pressure, however.
> If I'm not mistaken, the air pressure states go: ambient-low press.-ambient
> as the shockwave "cones" pass by.
> 
> -- 
> --==---==---==--
> "What happened ?"
> "It seems the occipital area of my head impacted with the arm of the chair."
> "No, I mean, what happened to us ?"
> "That has yet to be surmised."
> 
>   ARPA: umd5!don@maryland.ARPA, don%umd5@umd2.ARPA
> BITNET: don%umd5@umd2
>   UUCP: ..!{ seismo!umcp-cs, ihnp4!rlgvax }!cvl!umd5!don

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Unfortunately (?), the sonic boom itself is not supersonic; the phenomenon
that causes the shock wave is supersonic.  What you hear, you hear.  What
else is sound than perturbations that one can hear in the atmosphere?

--enuf of fluid mechanics; less argyou uv mien verzuz mashines
--arlan andrews