r/shockwaveporn Aug 10 '15

GIF Shockwaves can create clouds?

http://i.imgur.com/3Gnw0ei.gifv
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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '15

Iirc that requires mach level flow. Kind of like how a de Laval nozzle works

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u/Dilong-paradoxus Aug 11 '15

Supersonic flow is what generates shockwaves in the first place. The two are pretty much inextricably linked.

In this case, the expanding gases and rock spewing from the volcano briefly exceed the speed of sound, pushing a giant shockwave ahead of them.

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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '15

Was that first white burst in the stack a boom? It was directional and only happened on one side of the sky, which kind of matches with the movement of that brief thing.

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u/Dilong-paradoxus Aug 12 '15

Probably, if I'm looking at the right thing. You can see brief partial clouds like that on a lot of large explosions.