“How loud is X-59’s shaped sonic boom?”
Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 36, 040005 (2019); https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0001265
Authors: William Jeffrey Doebler and Jonathan Rathsam
Published Online: 17 June 2020

How loud is X-59’s shaped sonic boom? In this episode, we speak with co-authors from NASA Langley Research Center, Will Doebler, and Jonathan Rathsam. We will discuss NASA's X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology low boom flight demonstrator aircraft, built to generate a 75 dB Perceived Level (PL) shaped sonic boom or "sonic thump". As most members of the public have never heard a sonic boom, NASA realized a communication challenge in relaying how to describe the unique sound of a “sonic thump”. Due to this fact, the co-authors created a thermometer of acoustic levels or an “Impulsive Noise Perceived Level thermometer” to assist the public and media in understanding what the X-59 will sound like. We will examine the goals and mission of the X-59, and how the co-authors created and are using the “Impulsive Noise Perceived Level thermometer.”

Read more from Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA).

X-59 webpage link

Updated PL scale graphic

Impulsive noise database

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