Tech WondersPlay

Energy, Heat & MotionAcoustics

The Sonic Boom

Outrun your own sound and it piles up into a shock wave

A jet streaks overhead in total silence. Seconds later, a bang rattles your windows. Where was that noise while the jet went by?

You'll find out

  • What happens when you outrun sound
  • Why the boom arrives late
  • What a whip and a jet have in common

Why it matters

Sound's speed explains why thunder comes late, why bullets crack, and why a fast jet arrives before its own noise.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 71 · Zone 8

Play this lesson

Free to play in your browser or on iPhone

More in this zone

  1. 64Computer NetworksFinding a RoutePackets cross the planet without anyone knowing the whole map
  2. 65Data AnnotationYou've Been Training AI for FreeThose CAPTCHA traffic lights and crosswalks taught machines to see
  3. 66Pattern PerceptionFaces EverywhereYour brain is so tuned to faces it finds them in plugs and toast
  4. 67SpaceflightSixteen Sunrises a DayThe space station circles Earth every 90 minutes
  5. 68CombinatoricsThe Party PuzzleAt any party of six, three are all friends or all strangers
  6. 69Internet TrafficHalf the Internet Is RobotsNearly half of all web traffic is not human
  7. 70Social EngineeringWould You Plug It In?Nearly half of dropped USB sticks got plugged in
  8. 72Color ScienceThe Missing YellowYour screen shows yellow without a single yellow light