What makes the sound of a cracking whip?

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Posted by Indy Sean from 206.67.74.165 on February 15, 2001 at 09:18:09:

I got my email cool fact of the day today, thought it was pretty
cool. Check it out:

To crack a whip, you move it in one direction then pull it sharply
back in the opposite direction. A wave-like curve passes down
the
length of the whip, getting smaller as it goes. When the wave
reaches the end of the whip there is a loud popping sound that
can
release as much energy as a firecracker.

The cause of the sound is the speed of the whip's movement
through
the air. As the wave travels down the whip it becomes
compressed
into a shorter length of ever-narrower whip. The compression
and the
narrower material cause the wave to speed up.

The crack happens when the wave nears the tip. By that time,
the
movement exceeds the speed of sound. The crack is actually a
tiny
sonic boom, a shock wave just like the one made by the Space
Shuttle
as it re-enters the atmosphere.

Copyright (c) 2001, The Learning Kingdom, Inc.
http://www.LearningKingdom.com


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