FYKOS Year 26 Series 3 Problem 4 — Supersonic or subsonic? · FYKOS 26 #26.3.4
Physics · mechanics
Problem
Imagine a bomb that is free-falling on a military base of your enemies. Although you threw the bomb off an airplane, you should assume that its motion is vertical (i.e. no horizontal component of its velocity relative to the surface). Because of air friction, the falling bomb emits a sound that propagates at the speed c = 340 m/s. What is the maximal impact velocity of the bomb in order for your enemies to hear it before it kills them?