BOOM

Animation of a sonic boom

This animation shows the waves propagating from an aircraft moving at speeds greater than the speed of sound.

OpenGL Version

The program recognizes the following commands. The command may be executed by either clicking the button with the mouse (first column below) or by pressing a key (second column below). The mouse buttons may be removed from the screen by pressing the M key. Press M again to restore buttons.

pauseS Stop animation. Press G to resume animation.
resumeG Resume animation.
repeatR Repeat animation with aircraft at left edge of screen.
v=V Enter velocity of aircraft relative to the speed of the sound waves.
quitQ Quit program.

DOS Version

The program recognizes the following commands:
When the aircraft reaches the right edge of the screen, the animation stops. Press any key to repeat animation.
Press any number, 1 through 9, to change the speed of the aircraft. The speed of sound is 2. When the program begins, the speed of the aircraft is 4.
P Pause. Animation is frozen. Press any key to resume animation.
Q Quit program.
? Help. These commands are listed.