Ciekawostka: The crack of a whip is actually a tiny sonic boom, since the tip breaks the sound barrier

Evidence: 58 • authority: 72

A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to the human ear. The crack of a supersonic bullet passing overhead, the crack of a bullwhip, and the snapping of a rolled up towel are all examples of small sonic booms. Sonic booms due to large supersonic aircraft can be particularly loud and startling, tend to awaken people, and may cause minor damage to some structures. This led to the prohibition of routine supersonic flight overland. Although sonic booms cannot be completely prevented, research suggests…

Evidence: 50 • authority: 72

The sound barrier or sonic barrier is the large increase in aerodynamic drag and other undesirable effects experienced by an aircraft or other object when it approaches the speed of sound. When aircraft first approached the speed of sound, these effects were seen as constituting a barrier, making faster speeds very difficult or impossible. The term sound barrier is still sometimes used today to refer to aircraft approaching supersonic flight in this high drag regime. Flying faster than sound produces a sonic boom. In dry air at 20 °C (68 °F), the speed of sound is 343 meters per second (about 767 mph, 1234 km/h or 1,125 ft/s). The term came into use during World War II when pilots of high-s…

Evidence: 42 • authority: 92

Multibody analysis and soft tissue strength refute supersonic dinosaur tail.. Sauropod dinosaurs are well known for their massive sizes and long necks and tails. Among sauropods, flagellicaudatan dinosaurs are characterized by extreme tail elongation, which has led to hypotheses regarding tail function, often compared to a whip. Here, we analyse the dynamics of motion of a 3D model of an apatosaurine flagellicaudatan tail using multibody simulation and quantify the stress-bearing capabilities of the associated soft tissues. Such an elongated and slender structure would allow achieving tip velocities in the order of 30 m/s, or 100 km/h, far slower than the speed of sound, due to the combined…

Evidence: 42 • authority: 72

Donald Albert Hall (December 7, 1898 – May 2, 1968) was an American pioneering aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer who is most famous for having designed the Spirit of St. Louis. Hall was also part of the three-person team that discovered that the crack of a bullwhip is a sonic boom.

Evidence: — • authority: 72

Horace Maynard Trent (December 20, 1907 – December 16, 1964) was an American physicist best known for being part of the team that found that the crack of a bullwhip was actually a sonic boom. He is also the author of the currently accepted force-current analogy in physics known as the Trent analogy.

Evidence: — • authority: 35