The Physics of Sound w/ Bill Nye the Science Guy
Twenty Thousand Hertz
00:00
The Sound of a Shock Wave
The sound generated by a shock wave is called a sonic boom. Most sonic booms are caused by human inventions, but not all of them. What you're hearing right now is a series of underwater sonic booms made by pistol shrimps snapping their claws together. When a pistol shrimp snaps its claws, it shoots a kind of bubble bullet that moves toward its prey at up to 62 miles an hour. It creates a sonic boom loud enough to stun or even kill its prey.
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