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Re: breaking sound barrier movie



Concerning the photograph mentioned in J. Marsh's post:
could someone explain the accompanying description claiming
that "part of the plane is supersonic and part isn't"?

I have the idea that the air around the aircraft might not
be entirely at rest. The flow of air past the aircraft at
its boundary might well vary over the surface. It is also
possible that the air is not isothermal. The speed of sound
varies as the square root of the temperature. The cloud is
almost certainly condensed water vapor as claimed in the
Navy caption.

Leigh