The speed of sound, or sonic speed, is called Mach 1. It varies with the
pressure and temperature of the air, but is about 720 miles per hour (1,200 km/h).
Something that travels faster than sound is known as supersonic. Twice the speed
of sound is Mach 2, and so on. Some planes can reach Mach 3 or more. The first
person to fly faster than the speed of sound was Captain Charles "Chuck"
Yaeger in a rocket plane, the Bell X-1. It blasted through the sound barrier in
1947. Supersonic aircraft overtake their own sound, which spreads out behind
them in a shock wave that we hear on the ground as a sonic boom. (‘World of
Science’)
May 12, 2013
Supersonic aircraft
The speed of sound, or sonic speed, is called Mach 1. It varies with the
pressure and temperature of the air, but is about 720 miles per hour (1,200 km/h).
Something that travels faster than sound is known as supersonic. Twice the speed
of sound is Mach 2, and so on. Some planes can reach Mach 3 or more. The first
person to fly faster than the speed of sound was Captain Charles "Chuck"
Yaeger in a rocket plane, the Bell X-1. It blasted through the sound barrier in
1947. Supersonic aircraft overtake their own sound, which spreads out behind
them in a shock wave that we hear on the ground as a sonic boom. (‘World of
Science’)
