Although the causes of booms Friday and Monday haven't been confirmed, an aerospace engineer explains how supersonic aircraft might explain the widespread phenomenon.
, said Tuesday one likely explanation for the widespread phenomenon is shock waves from supersonic aircraft — sonic booms."It's nothing dramatic," Katz said during an interview at the university's supersonic wind tunnel."The sonic boom is simply a pressure wave that you hear. When an airplane moves fast, at the front, it compresses the air in the back, there's decompression. Your ear hears the pressure difference.
The reason, Katz said, people miles apart experience that shock wave with similar intensity is that the wave isn't a one-time occurrence when the aircraft breaks the sound barrier. It follows the aircraft as it flies. Shock waves from a sonic boom can be felt on the ground — depending on atmospheric conditions — from a jet flying above 30,000 feet, Katz said.
" is a cone that follows the airplane," Katz said."So if you stand on the ground, then it just passes you by. It will follow the airplane's flight path." Another possible military explanation for the booms and shaking is artillery and ground-based explosions at. This type of training is routine at the base and the sounds of those explosions can carry up to 50 miles given the right atmospheric conditions, according to the Marine Corps.
Those sound waves, however, Katz said, will dissipate over distance and are generally localized near the base. Other potential sources of sonic booms include meteorites. However, Katz said because meteorites travel downward, the effect of the shock wave would also be localized.Military officials in San Diego offered no explanation for either Friday's or Monday's events. A Naval Air Forces spokesperson said they weren't tracking any Navy jet activity in the area.
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