3 ms·
> He did not feel or hear the supersonic boom as he passed the speed of sound, he said. He performed two slow back flips before a small parachute righted him.
by stormbrew 12y ago
> He did not feel or hear the supersonic boom as he passed the speed of sound, he said. He performed two slow back flips before a small parachute righted him.
Just out of curiosity, isn't this expected? It is my extremely layman understanding that the boom happens behind the object moving supersonically, and obviously if you're going faster than the speed of sound it won't catch up to you, right?
- josu 12y agoIf the people on Earth heard it, he must have heard it at some point. Even if he was travelling faster than the sound wave, as he started decelerating the wave must have caught him up at some point.
- pbhjpbhj 12y agoI'd imagine the part of the wavefront behind him would dissipate in his wake, only undisturbed parts - those moving out to the sides - would survive to pass him? Others could potentially hear the boom that way without him hearing it.
- neurotech1 12y agoFighter pilots don't hear the boom when they go supersonic. That is why there have been a few cases of pilots accidentally exceeding M1.0 and doing damage on the ground. At the altitude Mr Eustace jumped he probably didn't feel any buffeting either.