NASA Captures Unprecedented Images of Supersonic Shockwaves (phys.org) 37
As NASA looks into developing planes that can fly faster than sound without creating "sonic booms," the space agency has captured unprecedented photos of the interaction of shockwaves from two supersonic aircraft. Phys.Org reports: When an aircraft crosses that threshold -- around 1,225 kilometers (760 miles) per hour at sea level -- it produces waves from the pressure it puts on the air around it, which merge to cause the ear-splitting sound. In an intricate maneuver by "rock star" pilots at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, two supersonic T-38 jets flew just 30 feet (nine meters) apart below another plane waiting to photograph them with an advanced, high-speed camera, the agency said. The rendezvous -- at an altitude of around 30,000 feet -- yielded mesmerizing images of the shockwaves emanating from both planes. You can view all of the photos via NASA.
Awesome (Score:3)
Awesome stuff, and some precision flying was needed too.
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FTA, "they were Rockstars" in reference to the pilots who were 30 ft apart at supersonic speeds
Funny, not like many rock stars that I have heard about, I wonder if the pilots where drunk and snorting tons of coke?
Gas Dyamics by Zuckrow (Score:4, Insightful)
The formula P by Po = ( 1 + (gamma - 1)/gamma * M^2) ^ (( gamma - 1)/gamma) I will never forget. Brain cells spent memorizing that formula are frozen for ever, can never be repurposed to do anything else, even if I have do earthly reason to calculate the total pressure in a supersonic flow ever again! The last Gas Dynamics examn I sat for was 32 years ago!
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Schlieren is what came to my mind as well. The article however does not mention this method. Instead they write:
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2nd link says this: "The images were captured during the fourth phase of Air-to-Air Background Oriented Schlieren flights, or AirBOS"
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Ear-splitting sound (Score:3, Insightful)
Please. Stop already. I've heard plenty of sonic booms and I'd be hard pressed to describe them as 'ear-splitting'. If you live in the mid-west, Florida or other areas, thunderstorms create far higher sound pressure levels. And do more damage to windows and structures as well.
If we can't get the highly suggestible people over the idea that sonic booms are intolerably loud, because they have been told they are, we will never develop supersonic aircraft.
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You must have been far, far away from the sonic booms. I lived about 15 miles from a former military air base. Jet jocks were often goofing around and busting the sound barrier. The noise is LOUD and startling!
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When I was a kid fighter jets would occasionally create a sonic boom over the small town I grew up in. As a kid I thought this was cool as hell.
A few times they were low enough it felt like light thunder
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One day, we were shown "The Day After"
Question: Who showed you this? And what do you think their motives were, if any?
When you show something like this to a kid, you have to be careful and provide some discussion afterwards so as no to freak them out. Unless that was the idea.
waiting for the flash
I think that by the time I was 12, I had seen some films of nuclear tests. And I knew that you saw the flash first. And then you counted the seconds until the boom to figure out how far away it was. Also a cool thing to do with lightning.
never heard one loud enough that I thought it would shatter windows though.
They can if you live near an air f
These were presumably conventional (Score:2)
You'd need to perform a similar set of experiments with waverider airfoils, where the planes essentially surf the shockwave, to get a comprehensive picture.
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It is worth mentioning that these pictures were just a test of their improved imaging system, and not intended to provide any new information yet.
This is why I read Slashdot (Score:2)
THESE sorts of articles are what I want to see on Slashdot. Not the latest reason we need to cater to the perceived slights against one group or another.
I read the article. The photos are indeed magnificent. Makes me want to understand more about how they plan on mitigating sonic boom.