What exactly is a sonic boom and why does it happen? Put simply, when a vehicle (even a car or bicycle) moves, it must displace the air in front of It to the space around and behind it. As a plane flies, the air spreads out around it and compresses in front of it. As the plane goes faster, it exceeds the speed that the air can easily get out of the way. The air stacks up on itself and forms waves around the vehicle. The air forms a cone behind the plane. These waves are really just rapid pressure changes. When a plane flies over your house, its Shockwave will follow and you will experience it as a very sudden rise then fall off of air pressure, followed by another rise as the displaced air tries to fill in the low-pressure zone. These pressure changes can trip car alarms, break windows, annoy neighbors, etc.
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