Supersonic speed motion faster than the speed of sound in a brittle material. At the beginning of the 20th century, the term "supersonic" was used as an adjective to describe sound whose frequency is above the range of normal human hearing. The modern term for this meaning is "ultrasonic". The tip of a bullwhip is thought to be the first man-made object to break the sound barrier, resulting in the telltale "crack" (actually a small sonic boom). The wave motion traveling through the bullwhip is what makes it capable of achieving supersonic speeds. Most modern fighter aircraft are supersonic aircraft, but there
Sonic boom to a less powerful boom. Several smaller shock waves can and usually do form at other points on the aircraft, primarily at any convex points, or curves, the leading wing edge, and especially the inlet to engines. These secondary shockwaves are caused by the air being forced to turn around these convex points, which generates a shock wave in supersonic flow. The later shock waves are somewhat faster than the first one, travel faster and add to the main shockwave at some distance away from the aircraft to create a much more defined N-wave shape. This maximizes both the magnitude