eli5 How does the sound barrier break when planes fly? What is the boom? Plane accumulating wind or what is happening?

Question

eli5 How does the sound barrier break when planes fly? What is the boom? Plane accumulating wind or what is happening?

In: 9

Answer 1

Plane sends out sound waves.

Sound waves move fast, but not that fast.

Plane goes very fast, faster than the sound wave.

Each sound wave in front of the plane is catching up to the ones in front of it because they are going faster and faster with the velocity of the plane.

At a certain point, all the sound waves come together and make one really big sound wave, which makes a boom.

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You are sort of right to think of accumulating wind, as that’s the medium the waves travel in.