Years ago as I sat on a plane taxiing at Heathrow, I caught a glimpse of a Concorde out on the tarmac. My classmates couldn’t understand why I was so Keep reading
Tag: shockwave
Underwater Explosions and Submarines
In the early days of submarines, it did not take physicists and engineers long to discover how destructive underwater explosions can be. In this Slow Mo Guys video, Gav gives Keep reading
Breaking Bubbles
What do a nineteenth-century war ship, a sardine-hunting shark, and a viral bottle trick have in common? Cavitation! The phenomenon of cavitation occurs when a fluid is accelerated such that Keep reading
Understanding Stars’ Seismology
Our understanding of Earth’s interior is based mostly on observations of seismic waves, which travel differently through our rocky crust and the molten core. Scientists similarly use seismic waves in Keep reading
Mimicking Supernovas
The Hubble archives are full of incredible swirls of cosmic gas and dust, many of which were born in supernovas. Predicting the forms these massive explosions will generate is extremely Keep reading
Shock Waves Drive Nova Brightening
New observations of nova V906 Carinae have provided some of the first direct evidence that the observed brightening of these stellar objects is driven by shock waves. Novae form when Keep reading
“Transient 2”
Where cold and warm air meet, our atmosphere churns with energy. From the turbulence of supercell thunderclouds to the immense electrical discharge of lightning, there’s much that’s breathtaking about stormy skies. Photographer Keep reading
Galileo’s Descent
In December 1995, the Galileo probe made its dramatic descent into Jupiter’s atmosphere at a velocity of more than 47 km/s. In 30 seconds, it decelerated from Mach 50 to Mach 1, Keep reading
Champagne’s Shock Wave
The distinctive pop of opening a champagne bottle is more than the cork coming free. The sudden release of high-pressure gas creates a freezing jet that’s initially supersonic. It even creates a Mach disk, Keep reading
Cavitation Collapse
The collapse of a bubble underwater doesn’t seem like a very important matter, but when it happens near a solid surface, like part of a ship, it can be incredibly destructive. This Keep reading