Answers to Readers' Questions on Traveling Faster than Sound. Also refer to Doppler effect, frequency, aircraft, supersonic, shock wave, sonic boom, physics, Ron Kurtus, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions
Answers to Readers' Questions on Traveling Faster than Sound
The following 4 questions have been answered. They are listed according to date.
List of first 10 items
- Doppler effect if I was traveling faster than sound
- Traveling faster than sound on a motorcycle
- I think sound waves do not have mass
- Could you hear your words if traveling faster than sound?
Doppler effect if I was traveling faster than sound
Question
May 20, 2009
I want to find out more about Doppler effect. If I could travel faster than sound toward my friend and say one, two, three, then would my friend hear three, two, one? Is this not a doppler effect? Which formula can we use to calculate the frequency of the sound in this case instead of the doppler effect? Thankyou very much.
Huong - Vietnam
17776
Answer
If you are traveling faster than sound toward your friend, the sound would stream away from the direction of motion, such that your friend would not hear you until to reached him.
Also, see our lessons on the Doppler Effect:
http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/waves_doppler.htm
http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/sound_doppler_equations.htm
Traveling faster than sound on a motorcycle
Question
May 2, 2009
I also have a question on traveling faster than the speed of sound.
Say two people were on a motorcycle that could go faster than the speed of sound (just for arguments sake). Once able to break the sound barrier, if the person sitting on the back of the motorcycle said something to the person on the front of the motorcycle, would the person in front hear his voice at all? Since they are traveling faster than sound, I would think the sound waves would not catch up to the person in front.
I am basing the off the principle that if you were traveling the speed of sound and turned on a flashlight in front of you, you would not see the light because you are already traveling at that speed. Although, sound wave vibrations are different than light so thus the question. If you could answer that would be great.
Mike - USA
17687
Answer
If two people were in a jet plane that was traveling faster than the speed of sound, they could talk to each other, since the air inside would be traveling at the same speed as they were and would be independent of the air outside.
If two jets were flying faster than the speed of sound, the first jet could not detect sound from the following jet, because the sound could not catch up.
In the case of the motorcycle, the air in between the riders probably would be traveling along with them or at least swirling at less than the speed of sound. Thus, the person in front probably could hear the person behind him.
What happens when you travel near the speed of light is strange, since time and distance compress, such that the light from a flashlight would catch up as if nothing had changed.
I think sound waves do not have mass
Question
April 2, 2009
If sound waves, or waves in general do not have a mass and can go through each other and only cause interference, then why is the sound able to make a barrier in front of the plane? or is it that the waves can go through each other but not through the plane?
THNX 4 UR ANSR!
Aram - USA
17543
Answer
Sound waves are vibrations in air, and the air molecules do have mass. When two sound waves meet, the motion of the air molecules are added to or subtracted from each other, resulting in the various interference effects.
When an airplane travels faster than sound, it is moving faster than the vibrations of the air, so that the air molecules cannot get out of the way.
Could you hear your words if traveling faster than sound?
Question
August 11, 2008
My friend and I are having a....discussion. If a person could run at the speed of sound, would words spoke while running at said speed, would they sound backwords at their destination? Example - while running you say "hi". Would you hear "ih". Thankyou for your time.
Shaun - USA
16343
Answer
Certainly a person could not run hundreds of miles per hour. But it is possible for a vehicle to go faster than sound, such that it will get somewhere before the sound it makes. A bullet shot from a gun will get to its destination before the bang is hear. It would be possible for someone in a jet plane to say something that is broadcast through a loudspeaker and then hear his voice when he got to his destination. (Possible but not very easy to do.)
Summary
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Answers to Readers' Questions on Traveling Faster than Sound