[Eli5] Does a shockwave, by itself, create a difference in temperature in the substances it moves through? How or why not?

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I want to know, whether a shockwave itself, not a bomb or anything, has the power to increase the temperature of the substances it moves through. Seeing as it’s a moving mass I would think it creates heat, and if that’s true how much does it dissipate heat in its environment. Would it change the temperature of a human, or water, or rock?

I ask this to be explained really simply as physics is way over my head and I’m hopelessly lost when math starts getting involved.

In: Physics

2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Yes, a shockwave is a sudden change in air pressure and this results in a change in temperature as well, the rise in temperature can be significant if the shockwave is very strong.

For instance the main source of heat in space capsules during reentry is not friction, it’s the temperature of their own shockwave. But you have to take into account that in this case the capsule moves along with the shockwave, if an object is at rest the shockwave will pass quickly and it won’t have much time to heat it.

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