# Sonic Boom **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sonic-boom/584338 "2011-06-04T21:08:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sonic-boom/584338/1 "2011-06-04T21:08:48Z")
Does anyone know when an aircraft exceeds the speed of sound does the sonic boom occur only at the precise moment the speed of sound is passed and only heard once on the ground, or does the boom follow the aircraft and does everyone over the flight path hear the boom for as long as the plane stays above mach 1? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sonic-boom/584338/2 "2011-06-04T21:10:58Z")
The ‘sonic boom’ is the shock wave passing your location, so it travels along with the aircraft. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sonic-boom/584338/3 "2011-06-04T21:15:57Z")
There’s a graphic in the Wikipedia entry which helps to illustrate it: > **[Sonic boom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_boom)** > > A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to the human ear. > The crack of a supersonic bullet passing overhead or the crack of a bullwhip are examples of a sonic boom in miniature. > Sonic booms due to large supersonic aircraft can be particularly loud and startling, tend to awaken people, and may cause m... ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sonic-boom/584338/4 "2011-06-04T22:54:42Z")
The others are correct. You could fly in a supersonic plane from Boston to Los Angeles and a significant fraction of the population of the U.S. would be able to hear it as it passes overhead. That is a big reason airliners haven’t changed much in terms of speed in the last 5 decades or so. The sonic boom occurs through the entire supersonic flight path. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sonic-boom/584338/5 "2011-06-04T23:20:18Z")
Hadouken ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sonic-boom/584338/6 "2011-06-06T12:34:18Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > Does anyone know when an aircraft exceeds the speed of sound does the sonic boom occur only at the precise moment the speed of sound is passed and only heard once on the ground, or does the boom follow the aircraft and does everyone \*\*over \*\*the flight path hear the boom for as long as the plane stays above mach 1? Bolding mine. Everybody else covered the answer. I’d like to hear more about these supersonic subterrainean aircraft that fly lower than all the people standing around on the ground. Holy [Tremors](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100814/), Batman.