Let's Learn About Sonic Booms

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The expanding gas cloud from a really big explosion using amfol to move tons of rock and earth is not quite the same as a sonic boom - but it's really fun to watch. Make sure you open your mouth just a bit tho, cause the shock wave compression can hurt.

Will in Seattle on August 17, 2010 at 2:45 PM

Today's other fun fact: Most of the sound you hear when a gun is fired is from the bullet breaking the sound barrier, not the actual explosion in the chamber.

Fifty-Two-Eighty on August 17, 2010 at 2:56 PM

Fifty-Two-Eighty: sorry but that is a weird myth you dug up somewhere. For instance, most all handgun ammunition is subsonic.

on August 17, 2010 at 3:01 PM

@3 I assume most people got it from the book Fight Club and then passed it on to become an annoying rumor.

tigntink on August 17, 2010 at 3:08 PM

Now, if you want a fun bullet, try one of those rocket shells. Those sound really cool. Really inaccurate, though.

Will in Seattle on August 17, 2010 at 3:15 PM

@3 Dead wrong. The speed of sound @ sea level with an ambient temperature of 75 degrees is 1133 feet per second. MANY handgun cartridges exceed this. Even the lowly .22 long rifle in high velocity loadings exceeds the speed of sound.

Westside forever on August 17, 2010 at 3:22 PM

@2 one of the most unnerving sounds in the world is to hear one of those tiny sonic booms close to you.
@3 lurk moar.

playswithknives on August 17, 2010 at 3:34 PM

All this talk about sonic booms and the speed of sound and no mention of this guy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_yeage…

btw and different topic... how does one link a webpage to a word in this place?

Urgutha Forka on August 17, 2010 at 3:42 PM

@8:

[a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_yeager"]Testosterone[/a].

With the square brackets replaced by angle brackets (shift-comma, shift-period). Thusly:

Testosterone

rob! on August 17, 2010 at 4:04 PM

@8, you need a little html. Start with <a href=", then paste your URL, then ">, then the word you want to be the link, then </a>

Fnarf on August 17, 2010 at 4:05 PM

btw, you can include a couple of words in the middle, but I think it truncates after three.

rob! on August 17, 2010 at 4:06 PM

@8,9,10...
Thank you!

Urgutha Forka on August 17, 2010 at 4:51 PM

Whoops... meant @9,10,11

Urgutha Forka on August 17, 2010 at 4:52 PM

Oh, and also @ rob!

Testosterone = Chuck Yeager. Nice touch!

Urgutha Forka on August 17, 2010 at 4:55 PM

My favorite Sonic Boom fact is Spacemen 3.

Fnarf on August 17, 2010 at 5:12 PM

I prefer this Sonic boom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKsLOD14j…

Spicy McHaggis on August 17, 2010 at 7:34 PM

I can crack my hair when it's braided -- that's my sure thing bar bet: I can make a part of my body break the speed of sound!

Cracker Jack on August 17, 2010 at 8:35 PM

The way to create a sonic boom is to hold back for two seconds then go forward and punch.

Foggen on August 18, 2010 at 6:36 AM

Let's Learn About Sonic Booms

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