(meteorobs) Multiple sonic booms

[Terry Richardson]

George et al.

Your question is a good one and since I am familiar with the physics 
here I might be able to shed a  little light on the question. A sonic 
boom is a shock wave that develops from an object that is traveling 
faster than the speed of a wave in the particular medium involved. 
Almost all of us have seen a shock wave in water. The wake of a boat is 
just such a shock wave. When a boat passes the shore at a speed greater 
than the speed of water waves, the wake streams back boat the boat and 
eventually washes along the shore. That wash is the water equivalent of 
our hearing a sonic boom due to something in the air when its shock 
wave reaches us.

Based on that view, four sonic booms would imply four objects; HOWEVER, 
I said only that I was familiar with the physics but not an expert in 
this area. The water example is with a homogeneous medium of constant 
density. I can easily see effects in the atmosphere with different 
layers or perhaps regions of changing and differing densities perhaps 
refracting the wave and providing multiple paths to our ear of the same 
wave.

Perhaps some of our members with aviation knowledge can shed even more 
light here.

Clear skies,

TR

Terry Richardson
Department of Physics and Astronomy
College of Charleston
Charleston, SC 29424
843 953-8071

On Mar 19, 2005, at 9:40 AM, GeoZay at aol.com wrote:

> I was wondering if there is meaning to the number of sonic booms heard 
> from
> a falling meteorite? If a meteoroid fractured into several pieces 
> while still
> traveling supersonic, It stands to reason that each piece could 
> produce a
> hearable sonic boom, once it reaches below about 30 miles altitude. 
> Would it be
> these circumstances that would produce the long rumblings that might be
> associated with meteorite dropping fireballs? Or is there another 
> cause for the
> long rumblings that sounds like rolling thunder? Would a single 
> supersonic
> meteorite produce multiple sonics? Any rumblings or just a simple loud 
>  boom?
> Would a meteorite with velocities that are multiples of the  speed of 
> sound,
> produce more than one boom? Let's say a meteorite drops below an  
> altitude of
> about 30 miles with a velocity of 4 times the speed of sound for  that 
> altitude,
> will it produce 4 booms? I don't know much about sonic boom  
> production such as
> with aircraft. Just trying to figure out if there is a sonic  
> signature here
> that meaning can be applied to for falling meteorites? Anybody  got any
> thoughts about this?
> George Zay
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