The '''Sonic sonic boom''' is the sound produced as a result of aircraft traveling at or above Mach 1 (the speed of sound)<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Physical Science''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1999, 2000</ref> or indeed, when any object breaks the [[sound barrier]]. As an object moves through the air it creates pressure waves that move radially outward at the [[speed of sound]]. When the object moves at or above the speed of sound the waves that would normally propagate ahead of the object merge into a larger pressure wave.
It used to be thought that the cracking noise of a [[whip]] was due to leather striking leather but, after using high speed [[photography]] to study the motion of the whip, it was discovered that the crack is actually the tip of the whip breaking the sound barrier.
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[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Aviation]]