Many people consider it impossible for a car to move at speed equal to that of a fired bullet and break the sound barrier.
However, a few of them know about the exceptional inventions of the automobile industry, like Thrust SSC and Bloodhound, that can meet expectations of breaking the sound barrier.
Can Cars Break the Sound Barrier? Cars can break the sound barrier, but only one car was manufactured in 1997 that can move at 763mph. However, the Thrust SuperSonic car has made a record of being the fastest Land car that can cause a sonic boom, displayed at the Coventry Transport Museum to show the potential of the automobile industry. Furthermore, Bloodhound will break its record in the next year as it is designed to move at 1000mph.
A few exceptional automobiles have been manufactured in the past, showing the achievements of automobile designers and manufacturers.
However, it is not good to hear that these cannot run on the road like the others due to the production of noise that can cause noise pollution.
Is it possible for a car to break the sound barrier?
A sound barrier indicates the speed at which sound travels, and breaking a barrier means that its movement is faster than the speed of sound.
Cars can break this barrier if they are designed with a strong engine that can aid in fast acceleration. In addition, it increases the fuel combustion rate and power production.
However, automobiles commonly moving on the road cannot run at speed equal to a sound because every car is not made to break this barrier.
The speed of sound is around 343m/s when the temperature is 68 degrees Fahrenheit, which increases by 0.6m/s with each rising degree.
Moreover, only one car was designed in 1997 to beat the speed of sound and move at high speed due to the design and strength of its components that allowed it to do so.
So, it is only possible for Thrust SuperSonic car to create a sonic boom that can now exceed the traveling sound.
What cars can break the sound barrier?
Every car has a different make and model that makes them different in efficiency as some can attain high speed, as Tesla Model 3 can run at high speed that can be achieved within seconds.
In contrast, few cars are slow, like Peel 50 is the slowest vehicle that can only cover 25 to 30 miles per hour.
Thrust SuperSonic car was designed in 1997 and made the World Land Speed Record in October 1997. It had attained a speed of 763mph, which was close to the speed of sound.
It has covered several miles in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, within a short time, which was an excellent achievement for the manufacturers.
It was designed by the collective efforts of Jeremy Bliss, Glynne Bowsher, Richard Noble, and Ron Ayres and driven by Andy Green in Nevada, USA.
In addition, its length and width are 54 feet and 12 feet, giving a total thrust of 50,000 pounds. Moreover, its weight is almost 10 tons and contains two turbo-fans engines.
These twin engines can burn almost 15 to 18 liters of fuel within a second to move at the speed of sound. It accelerates at a speed of 25 to 30 mph every second.
Furthermore, there is a Bloodhound car, a rocket-powered vehicle that can move at speed better than Thrust SSC. It can accelerate at 1000mph and went on sale for 10 to 11 million dollars.
Thrust SSC is currently present at Coventry Transport Museum in England, where people can see the accomplishments of the automobile industry that have introduced the finest car in the past.
How do cars break the sound barrier?
A traditional car cannot attain such a fast speed to break the sound barrier as powerful internal components are required to produce more power by increasing the combustion rate many times.
Moreover, it can move at a fast speed due to better handling of the steering wheel, as it has to keep the vehicle in a straight direction, and the throttle gets mashed for better performance.
Precision and accuracy are required to gain better forward momentum. Andy Green had driven the Thrust SSC and efficiently managed the steering wheel.
It was turned towards the right at 90 degrees angle when the vehicle gained a speed of 600 mph resulting in air that is supersonic above the vehicle.
After that, it begins to move in a straight line without moving in different directions.
In addition, the turbofan engines were capable of producing almost 110,000 hp. The throttle body is similar in working to Sedan, and Green made minor adjustments to make it flat out.
How fast do you have to go to break the sound barrier?
You have to beat the speed of sound to break the barrier, which is difficult with a traditional vehicle. The speed of sound is 343m/s or 767 mph in dry air.
It changes with fluctuating weather conditions and altitude as dry and humid conditions affect it. Thrust SSC has gained a speed of 763 mph, which was close to the sound speed.
Moreover, two turbofan engines gave a thrust of 223 kN and 102,000 brake horsepower.
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport car is the fastest street car that can legally move on the road and run at 304.7 mph but is insufficient to create a sonic boom.
So, you have to move at a speed of more than 760 mph to make it able to break the sound barrier and cover many miles within a short time.
Is it illegal to make cars that can break the sound barrier?
The car creating a sonic boom was designed in the 1970s that was extremely fast in movement and seems like a rocket when it gains forward momentum.
It can be a fantastic experience to see a vehicle covering several miles of distance within seconds, but it will cause noisy disturbance when it creates a sonic boom.
Americans reported almost 30,000 to 40,000 claims against the Air Force due to disturbances when the jets create an unbearable noise on the ground.
Therefore, Federal Aviation Administration considered the valid issues of the public and banned all supersonic flights on land to overcome the sonic booms.
This prohibition on vehicles is still in effect and restricts manufacturers from creating such automobiles that can disrupt people’s comfort.
So, it is illegal to make cars for private or commercial use that can create sonic boom; that’s why you cannot see any other vehicle like Thrust SSC nowadays.
Furthermore, modern cars are quiet and quick and do not make such loud sounds that can cause disturbance in the environment.
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