Sonic Boom

Supersonic flight is always accompanied by shock waves that may be heard as a sonic boom. This chapter provides a brief overview of sonic booms, including their generation, propagation, and resultant noise at ground level. For current and past supersonic aircraft the loudness of the sonic boom has led to stringent restrictions on civil overland supersonic flight. Recent research in aerospace engineering and related areas has opened the possibility for supersonic flight with sonic booms of a reduced loudness that may be acceptable to the public. This chapter will also provide a summary of the existing challenges for developing acceptable low-boom aircraft designs and recent successful attempts toward boom minimization.