A bullet can travel at a speed of over 1000 m/s. When a bullet is fired from a rifle, the actual firing makes a distinctive sound, but people at a distance may hear a second, different sound that is even louder. Explain the source of this sound.

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Physics

Jayleen Sullivan

9 May, 04:12

A bullet can travel at a speed of over 1000 m/s. When a bullet is fired from a rifle, the actual firing makes a distinctive sound, but people at a distance may hear a second, different sound that is even louder. Explain the source of this sound.

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Finley Cobb · Answer 1

When a bullet is fired from a rifle, the actual firing makes a distinctive sound, but people at a distance may hear a second because the bullet creates a shock wave, a little sonic boom (speed of this sonic boom is greater than the speed of sound). It is this sound only that is heard by the people at a distance from the gun.