I was watching this high speed video and they showed a shockwave that was faster than the speed of sound they saw in the object. How is that possible? Isn't the speed of sound the fastest something propagates as sound is a pressure wave?
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @k00b 1 Oct
Sound travels at different speeds in different materials. It travels at one speed in air, at another speed in water, etc. Even in air, the speed of sound depends on conditions like temperature, humidity, etc.
The same is true for the speed of light. It travels slower in air and glass than in a vacuum.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @carter OP 1 Oct
but isnt the shockwave traveling at the speed of sound when its cracking? so how is there a faster speed of sound? Like I would expect the 1st shockwave propagating to be the speed of sound in the material but this seemed like there was 2. 1 faster like transverse wave and then a slower one that went at the calculated speed of sound
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 1 Oct
I see that's interesting. Basically the question is whether damage can be done faster than sound travels through a material? That violates my intuition too. I haven't watched the video yet.
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