3 ms·
Well it's basically if you normally just raise pressure and lower it then it will propagate at the speed of sound (more or less - the extreme temperature shifts
by ummonk 6y ago
Well it's basically if you normally just raise pressure and lower it then it will propagate at the speed of sound (more or less - the extreme temperature shifts in the wave will cause some variation in the actual speed of sound).
High explosives cause air to be blown apart such that you're no longer just talking about a pressure wave, but talking about air flying with momentum faster than the speed of sound in a shockwave (at least until the shockwave loses energy and becomes a pressure wave).
I would expect the condensation wave (if one exists, which as you said is more likely during conditions of high relative humidity) to travel in sync with either a pressure wave or a shockwave though.