But why is the speed of sound the speed where this starts to happen? What is it about sound that makes it travel at that speed or I guess why does air change its behaviour at that speed? (Pretty sure I’m asking this question in the dumbest way possible but hopefully you can work out what I’m trying to ask)
It's a solid question. Think of the speed of sound as the maximum normal speed at which pressure effects (such as a pressure increase in front of a moving aircraft) can move through a medium. In water or oil this is crazy fast, in air much slower. Because molecular vibration influences it, temperature changes alter the speed of sound as well.
If you fly below the speed of sound, pressure effects can propagate upstream in front of the aircraft and so the air 'reacts' by creating a smooth streamline which starts to split ahead of the plane.
If the plane is supersonic then it's moving too fast for pressure effects to propagate ahead of it and so the air gets smacked into violently and 'unawares', forming a shockwave.
That’s kind of you to answer and very interesting but why is sound that speed and not 1.2 times the speed of sound or 0.9 times, do we know why sound runs at the speed it does?
Also is it true that the first human invention to break the sound barrier is the whip? I heard somewhere that a whip crack is it breaking the sound barrier not the leather slapping itself
But why is the speed of sound the speed where this starts to happen? What is it about sound that makes it travel at that speed or I guess why does air change its behaviour at that speed? (Pretty sure I’m asking this question in the dumbest way possible but hopefully you can work out what I’m trying to ask)
It's a solid question. Think of the speed of sound as the maximum normal speed at which pressure effects (such as a pressure increase in front of a moving aircraft) can move through a medium. In water or oil this is crazy fast, in air much slower. Because molecular vibration influences it, temperature changes alter the speed of sound as well.
If you fly below the speed of sound, pressure effects can propagate upstream in front of the aircraft and so the air 'reacts' by creating a smooth streamline which starts to split ahead of the plane.
If the plane is supersonic then it's moving too fast for pressure effects to propagate ahead of it and so the air gets smacked into violently and 'unawares', forming a shockwave.
That’s kind of you to answer and very interesting but why is sound that speed and not 1.2 times the speed of sound or 0.9 times, do we know why sound runs at the speed it does?
Also is it true that the first human invention to break the sound barrier is the whip? I heard somewhere that a whip crack is it breaking the sound barrier not the leather slapping itself