Breaking the Sound Barrier - You can see it!

I thought this was really interesting - I guess it appealed to the science/physics geek in me.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090630/sc_livescience/whatsupersoniclookslike;_ylt=Au74cVzUh2S.E34KCPFpVpiCfNdF

Basically you can actually SEE the moment the airplane breaks the sound barrier. Pretty amazing and really interesting.

"The phenomenon is not well studied. Scientists refer to it as a vapor cone, shock collar, or shock egg, and it's thought to be created by what's called a Prandtl-Glauert singularity.

Here's what scientists think happens:

A layer of water droplets gets trapped between two high-pressure surfaces of air. In humid conditions, condensation can gather in the trough between two crests of the sound waves produced by the jet. This effect does not necessarily coincide with the breaking of the sound barrier, although it can."

Enjoy :)