Photo courtesy of J Lindberg Copyright © 1997-99 Fighter Tactics Academy (http://www.sci.fi/~fta/f18sound.htm)

You can hear sonic booms, but can you see them?

Based on what you have learned about the Doppler Effect, can you give a possible explanation as to what is happening in this picture? You can also watch a video of the same thing happening to another fighter jet. There have been several ideas offered as to explain what is happening, so your theory might be as good as any other.

Here's a brief explanation of what happened, but with your knowledge of the Doppler Effect, you can probably add more.

 

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