Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

NASA Captures Unprecedented Images of Supersonic Shockwaves

posted by chromas on Thursday March 14 2019, @07:43AM   Printer-friendly
from the pilots-were-shock[wave]-jocks? dept.

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

NASA captures unprecedented images of supersonic shockwaves

When an aircraft crosses that threshold—around 1,225 kilometers (760 miles) per hour at sea level—it produces waves from the pressure it puts on the air around it, which merge to cause the ear-splitting sound.

In an intricate maneuver by "rock star" pilots at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, two supersonic T-38 jets flew just 30 feet (nine meters) apart below another plane waiting to photograph them with an advanced, high-speed camera, the agency said.

The rendezvous—at an altitude of around 30,000 feet—yielded mesmerizing images of the shockwaves emanating from both planes.

With one jet flying just behind the other, "the shocks are going to be shaped differently", said Neal Smith of AerospaceComputing Inc, an engineering firm that works with NASA, in a post on the agency's website.

"This data is really going to help us advance our understanding of how these shocks interact."

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
NASA Captures Unprecedented Images of Supersonic Shockwaves | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 8 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday March 14 2019, @02:10PM (4 children)

    by Immerman (3985) on Thursday March 14 2019, @02:10PM (#814203)

    I'd be interested in knowing exactly what they're photographing as well, since pressure isn't visible directly.

    I suspect they're photographing the actual density variations in the air around the aircraft, that are associated with the pressure waves. Perhaps by analyzing the lensing effects of those density variations, or perhaps by flying through mist or pollution and actually capturing and enhancing the variation in opacity as the particulate density varies. Or maybe even looking at the variation in IR scattering associated with the CO2 in the air.

    I don't think it's vapor cones though. Those occur when you have a very sudden drop in pressure, and with it temperature, which can drive the percentage humidity above the saturation point and cause water vapor to condense.

    Since they're caused exclusively by pressure drops, and not increases, you wouldn't be able to see the leading edge of a shock-wave, no matter how sensitive your camera. And it certainly looks like we're seeing the leading edge of that cone extending from the nose.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 2) by Snow on Thursday March 14 2019, @03:51PM (3 children)

    by Snow (1601) on Thursday March 14 2019, @03:51PM (#814264) Journal

    Maybe it's like seeing the heat waves from your BBQ? Different density of air refracts light in different ways, then they can use a filter to see it more clearly?

    Just pulling ideas from my ass here...