What Does It Feel Like to Break the Sound Barrier?
The feeling of breaking the sound barrier is often described as a sharp increase in air resistance, similar to hitting a brick wall. Some pilots have also reported hearing a loud bang or pop when they exceed the speed of sound.
It’s hard to describe what it feels like to break the sound barrier, because it’s such a sudden and intense experience. It’s like being hit by a wall of air, or suddenly accelerating from 0 to 60 in an instant. Your body is pressed back into your seat, and you can feel the G-forces pressing against you.
Everything around you seems to be moving in slow motion, and there’s a loud rushing noise in your ears. But it’s also an exhilarating feeling, knowing that you’re doing something that few people have ever done.
What Does Breaking the Sound Barrier Sound Like
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to break the sound barrier? The answer may surprise you. It turns out that breaking the sound barrier doesn’t make a loud noise at all.
In fact, it’s barely audible.
So why is this? Well, when an object breaks the sound barrier, it’s actually exceeding the speed of sound waves.
Sound waves travel through the air at around 340 meters per second. But when an object is moving faster than that, the sound waves can’t keep up and they start to pile up in front of it. This causes a sonic boom.
But here’s the thing: a sonic boom isn’t caused by the object itself breaking the sound barrier. It’s caused by the shock wave that forms as the object moves through the air faster than the speed of sound. So technically, there’s no such thing as breaking the sound barrier – there’s only passing through it so quickly that a sonic boom is created!
Does Breaking the Sound Barrier Hurt?
The answer to this question is both yes and no. While it is true that breaking the sound barrier can cause a sonic boom, which can be quite loud, it does not necessarily hurt. The sonic boom is caused by the shock wave that is created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound.
This shock wave can be intense enough to cause damage to nearby buildings or even injure people, but it generally does not hurt those who are inside the aircraft.
What Does It Sound Like When You Break the Sound Barrier?
When you break the sound barrier, it sounds like a loud sonic boom. This is because when you travel faster than the speed of sound, you create a shockwave that is heard as a boom.
What Does a Pilot Feel When Breaking the Sound Barrier?
When a pilot breaks the sound barrier, he or she may feel a slight jolt or vibration. This is caused by the shock wave that is created when an object moves through the air faster than the speed of sound. The shock wave is similar to the sonic boom that is heard when an aircraft exceeds the speed of sound.
However, because pilots are typically flying at high altitudes, they usually do not hear the sonic boom.
Is It Illegal to Break the Sound Barrier?
No, it is not illegal to break the sound barrier. In fact, doing so is a pretty incredible feat that has been accomplished by only a handful of people in history. The sound barrier is simply the point at which an object (usually an aircraft) reaches the speed of sound, and it’s a pretty amazing accomplishment to achieve such speeds.
There are currently no laws or regulations against breaking the sound barrier, so anyone who is able to do so can go for it!
What Happens When You Break the Sound Barrier
Conclusion
It’s official, breaking the sound barrier is a thing of the past! On October 14, 1947, test pilot Chuck Yeager piloted the experimental rocket-powered aircraft, the X-1, faster than the speed of sound. While the significance of this achievement was not fully appreciated at the time, it did pave the way for supersonic flight and ultimately led to Concorde flying at twice the speed of sound.
So what does it feel like to break the sound barrier?
Yeager described it as a “sudden banging noise” followed by a “thump” that he felt in his seat. He also experienced G-forces pressing him back into his seat with such force that he had trouble breathing.
The X-1 reached a top speed of 700 miles per hour (mph) and an altitude of 45,000 feet before Yeager was able to bring it back under control.
Interestingly, while Yeager is often credited as being the first person to break the sound barrier, there is evidence that suggests otherwise. In 1941, Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot Geoffrey De Havilland Jr. may have actually become airborne at supersonic speeds during a test flight in England.
However, due to wartime secrecy surrounding De Havilland’s work, this cannot be confirmed.