Dictionary of Environmental Health
The name given to the SOUND generated by an aircraft that is travelling faster than the speed of sound. Sound is transmitted by pressure waves. These have a variable velocity dependent on the density of the medium through which they are travelling. In air the density varies with altitude.
If an aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound in that environment, it catches up and overtakes the pressure waves as they are generated. This leads to the creation of a shock wave that spreads outwards from the rear of the aircraft in the form of a sonic cone. When the sonic cone passes an observer (such as one standing at the earth’s surface) it is detected as a sonic boom. A sonic boom therefore is a continuing event that travels with the aircraft and that will last as long as the aircraft continues to generate the sonic cone, i.e. as long as it is travelling faster than the speed of sound.
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