Aviation - Sound Barrier
A benchmark in aviation that was thought for a long time to be impossible was breaking the sound barrier in a manned aircraft. As a vehicle approaches the speed of sound, the sound waves produced by the moving vehicle travel away at nearly the same speed as the vehicle itself. As a result of this, the sound waves compound, since they cannot outpace the source of newly created waves of equal magnitude. This has the potential to create a dangerous shock wave, known as a sonic boom which poses a significant risk of destroying the aircraft. Early attempts in aviation to break the sound barrier were almost always met with catastrophic failure and early claims of success were attributed to instrument inaccuracies. The sound barrier became mythicized as a physical wall that aircraft could not help but crash against.
Even though it was widely considered by experts to be impossible, there was still a huge movement to try and exceed the speed of sound. An inevitable result of this momentum was numerous great innovations in avionics. One of the most important examples of which was the development of powerful jet engines. Early aircraft were all driven by propellers, while this was more than enough for subsonic flight, it posed serious problems at higher speeds. The same compounding sound wave effect that produces a sonic boom created shock waves at the tips and along the blades of propellers. These shock waves not only threatened to destroy the propeller, they also significantly increased drag making it much harder to gain speed as efficiency plummeted. This led to research in jet engines, whose main advantages were much more controllable thrust as well as a smaller size compared to the piston engines that drove propellers. This innovation alongside numerous others in propulsion and aerodynamics eventually culminated in Chuck Yaeger breaking the sound barrier in October 1947 in an aircraft, “Glamorous Glennis” named after his wife.
The eventual conquering of the sound barrier resonated with me because of the collective movement surrounding it, especially considering the broader impacts it had on the world. Going faster than the speed of sound was a universally recognized problem to be solved. This recognition by so many competing parties drove innovation to an incredible degree, eventually conquering the problem but also developing countless aviation technologies that continue to connect the lives of countless people all over the world today. This showcases that in attempting any ‘impossible’ task, there are bound to be ripples of unintended and unpredicted positive results.
I think this case of the impossible becoming possible is an example of the good, both direct and indirect, that can come from tackling a large and seemingly insurmountable problem. Especially considering the challenges the world currently faces, with global climate change among others, examples of humanity overcoming seemingly impossible challenges are a source of reassurance and inspiration.
Sources
Howell, E. (2017, May 31). Chuck Yeager: First person to break the sound barrier. Space.com. Retrieved March 16, 2022, from https://www.space.com/26204-chuck-yeager.html
A&E Television Networks. (2009, November 24). Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier. History.com. Retrieved March 16, 2022, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in- history/yeager-breaks-sound-barrier
Kocis, D. (2022, March 2). Can a propeller-driven aircraft break the sound barrier? Plane & Pilot Magazine. Retrieved March 16, 2022, from https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/news/pilot-talk/2021/11/11/propeller-driven-aircraft- break-sound-barrier/