4 ms·

> Are people forgetting about how incredibly loud is a sonic boom? One of the unique selling points of their proposed aircraft is that it won't be so loud: >

> Are people forgetting about how incredibly loud is a sonic boom? One of the unique selling points of their proposed aircraft is that it won't be so loud: > Boom says Overture will be a lot quieter than Concorde and the supersonic military aircraft that were flying at the time the FAA ban https://www.freethink.com/energy/boom-supersonic-flight https://www.freethink.com/energy/boom-supersonic-flight

mrguyorama 2y ago
That's a claim without evidence. A sonic boom is a direct outcome of moving through the air faster than the air can move through itself. How have they demonstrated that they know how to cause quieter sonic booms?
- SideburnsOfDoom 2y ago
  Firstly, my claim that they say this is evidenced by the link. I did not assert it as historic fact that this thing works, just that this is what they say. The words "Selling point" and "proposed" are in that sentence for a reason: it's not actual yet. But if you think it's a deliberate fraud, then say so. Secondly: Although the final proof of it is in the full scale aircraft for sure, a lot can be done with software modelling (1) and wind tunnels these days. And with the scale model that just flew, to be followed by "checking the actual performance that was demonstrated against what our models predicted, and how we expected it to fly." (2) Thirdly, I point you to other "quieter supersonic" aircraft work in progress, the X-59. Some of their evidence-gathering process is detailed at the Wikipedia link, "development" section. (3) It will be interesting to see how these work out; but if they do not, then it's a failure of modelling and design, not because they missed the directly obvious. But if you are an aerospace engineer and know more about this subfield, then say so. 1) "Boom has perfected its aircraft’s efficient, aerodynamic design using computational fluid dynamics, which “is basically a digital wind tunnel"." https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/28/travel/boom-supersonic-first-flight-break-sound-barrier-mach-1/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/28/travel/boom-supersonic-fi... 2) https://www.livescience.com/technology/engineering/boom-supersonic-xb-1-smashes-the-sound-barrier-becoming-the-1st-civil-aircraft-to-go-supersonic-in-us-history https://www.livescience.com/technology/engineering/boom-supe... 3) https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/x-59-quiet-supersonic.html https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/x-59-quiet-sup... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_X-59_Quesst https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_X-59_Quesst
- nautilius 2y ago
  A sonic boom is not necessary when moving faster than sound, the Busemann biplane resolves that completely. There's been considerable work on sonic boom mitigation for many decades. Boom's long nose, flat underside, top engine, small wingspan delta wings are all designs expected to mitigate a sonic boom. Let's see if it works in practice.
- SideburnsOfDoom 2y ago
  Revisiting this, does this count as evidence? I see it as at least 1 data point https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42999735 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42999735 https://boomsupersonic.com/boomless-cruise https://boomsupersonic.com/boomless-cruise

mrguyorama 2y ago

That's a claim without evidence. A sonic boom is a direct outcome of moving through the air faster than the air can move through itself. How have they demonstrated that they know how to cause quieter sonic booms?

SideburnsOfDoom 2y ago
Firstly, my claim that they say this is evidenced by the link. I did not assert it as historic fact that this thing works, just that this is what they say. The words "Selling point" and "proposed" are in that sentence for a reason: it's not actual yet. But if you think it's a deliberate fraud, then say so. Secondly: Although the final proof of it is in the full scale aircraft for sure, a lot can be done with software modelling (1) and wind tunnels these days. And with the scale model that just flew, to be followed by "checking the actual performance that was demonstrated against what our models predicted, and how we expected it to fly." (2) Thirdly, I point you to other "quieter supersonic" aircraft work in progress, the X-59. Some of their evidence-gathering process is detailed at the Wikipedia link, "development" section. (3) It will be interesting to see how these work out; but if they do not, then it's a failure of modelling and design, not because they missed the directly obvious. But if you are an aerospace engineer and know more about this subfield, then say so. 1) "Boom has perfected its aircraft’s efficient, aerodynamic design using computational fluid dynamics, which “is basically a digital wind tunnel"." https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/28/travel/boom-supersonic-first-flight-break-sound-barrier-mach-1/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/28/travel/boom-supersonic-fi... 2) https://www.livescience.com/technology/engineering/boom-supersonic-xb-1-smashes-the-sound-barrier-becoming-the-1st-civil-aircraft-to-go-supersonic-in-us-history https://www.livescience.com/technology/engineering/boom-supe... 3) https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/x-59-quiet-supersonic.html https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/x-59-quiet-sup... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_X-59_Quesst https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_X-59_Quesst
nautilius 2y ago
A sonic boom is not necessary when moving faster than sound, the Busemann biplane resolves that completely. There's been considerable work on sonic boom mitigation for many decades. Boom's long nose, flat underside, top engine, small wingspan delta wings are all designs expected to mitigate a sonic boom. Let's see if it works in practice.
SideburnsOfDoom 2y ago
Revisiting this, does this count as evidence? I see it as at least 1 data point https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42999735 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42999735 https://boomsupersonic.com/boomless-cruise https://boomsupersonic.com/boomless-cruise