Overpressure Overpressure Overpressure (or blast overpressure) is the pressure caused by a shock wave over and above normal atmospheric pressure. The shock wave may be caused by sonic boom or by explosion, and the resulting overpressure receives particular attention when measuring the effects of nuclear weapons or thermobaric bombs. According to an article in the journal Toxicological Sciences, "Blast overpressure (BOP), also known as high energy impulse noise, is a damaging outcome of explosive detonations and firing of weapons. Exposure to BOP shock waves alone results in injury predominantly to the hollow organ systems such as auditory, respiratory, and gastrointestinal systems."
Speed of sound in ordinary air, deviating slightly from ideal behavior. In common everyday speech, "speed of sound" refers to the speed of sound waves in air. However, the speed of sound varies from substance to substance: sound travels most slowly in gases; it travels faster in liquids; and faster still in solids. For example, (as noted above), sound travels at in air; it travels at in water (4.3 times as fast as in air); and at in iron (about 15 times as fast as in air). In an exceptionally stiff material such as diamond, sound travels at 12,000 metres per second (27,000