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Sonic Booms

Water color illustration of people covering their ears as a plane loudly passes over head.
Credit: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

Supersonic airplane aren't the only things that make noisy shock waves. The supersonic expansion of the superheated air around a lightning bolt creates a shock wave, which we hear as a thunderclap. A firecracker's bang is also caused by a miniature shock wave. So is the crack of a whip.

Categories: Aerodynamics, Wings, Supersonic flight
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