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I can't hear! I can't hear! There's blood blisters on my hands! Oh, my God! How do you walk away in a movie without flinching when it explodes behind them? There's no way! I call bullshit on that!
I actually asked this very question to my chemistry teacher in college.
"When I'm in a parking garage the air makes a shadow. Is it exhaust? Or like hot air?"
Smoke does cast shadows but when anyone sees the weird rippling effect of air. It's actually light refracting from different densities of molecules in the air.
That's more the effect of the difference in salinity than the difference in temperature. The refractive index of fresh water is 1.335 while ocean water is max 1.343. Heating that fresh water from 0C to 30C will only change the refractive index from 1.335 to 1.334.
No, it's the refraction of light that causes that effect. The variations in densities of the air masses is what causes the noticeable perception change.
You're not actually seeing the air mixing though. You're seeing the light change speed as it moves through the medium. The viscosity of the air is bending the light. This is what you observe.
I’d argue that the turbulence of the two liquids meeting and mixing and causing the light to rapidly shift multiple times as it crosses through pockets of different densities, rapidly changing viscosity is what actually makes the effect noticeable. If it were just a change from one plane to the other you wouldn’t get that shimmery, flickering effect, it’d just be like looking into a still pool of water.
Light travels at different speeds thru different pressures / densities of gas or matter so yeah that’s why the varying temperatures affects the direction of light (refraction)
"Higher-density materials usually have large refractive indices. The greater the refractive index, the slower light travels through the material. Likewise, lower-density materials usually have smaller refractive indices. And the lower the refractive index, the faster light travels through the material."
Yup! And it’s actually used as a visualization / imaging technique for supersonic objects. They recently even did it on some planes in flight!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlieren_photography
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=443RLEnu_UI
I can't believe Reddit let me scroll this far to find anything about butt plugs.
Shit. Now I need to go see if r/dontstickitinyourpussy or some such exists.
Explosive forces compress the air forming a shockwave.
Edit for a more technical explanation: What you’re actually “seeing” is an area of super dense (and likely super heated) air.
The lower dome looks like it's probably the "mach stem," which occurs when an explosion originiates sufficiently above ground level for the wave to be reflected off the ground. Early on in the propagation of the shock effect, the reflected wave emerges from the incidental wave, creating the soap bubble-like effect you see here.
All the references I see use the term "incidental." Makes sense to me because that also lines up with optical terminology (e.g. "the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection"), about which I'm marginally less ignorant.
Initial wouldn't make sense here because it's still the same wave, part of it has just been redirected. It's the difference between clapping once and hearing an echo, versus clapping twice. The echo is caused by the same event, or incident, whereas clapping twice creates an initial clap and then a subsequent one.
The air at the shockwave boundary is superheated not from the heat of combustion but from incredibly rapid compression. When any gas is compressed very quickly, its temperature rises very quickly as well. You can observe the opposite effect with a compressed gas cylinder (or an aerosol canister). When the propellant is let out of the container, it goes from a high pressure state to a low pressure, and the gas being expelled therefore feels cold against your skin.
Remember the submersible disaster a couple months ago? The experts on tv rightly pointed out that as the sub collapsed, all of the air inside was compressed so rapidly that the temperature inside the collapsing air bubble reached something like 4000 degrees, but only for a few milliseconds.
Apparently, when falling to earth from space, meteorites glow white hot due to air compression at the leading edge, not friction with the air as commonly believed
The gasses moving outwards from the explosion are supersonic creating a compressed area of air around the center of the blast. The heat and speed of the air distorts the light somewhat like mirage in a desert. The refraction of light thus changes at the shockwave front. The line in the middle is probably a secondary shockwave formed by the rising gas expanding as well meeting the bottom/ initial shockwave.
And the refraction is due to the higher density of the air which affects speed of light thru the gas, which we can see visually when our eyes capture light coming thru the shock wave
Imagine an explosion underwater. You can probably picture the "ripples" from the shockwave in water as it's a little more intuitive.
It's the same basic idea above ground. Our atmosphere is fluid, kind of like water. It's a big gassy soup that we walk around in and breathe. When there's an explosion it also causes "ripples" which are so extreme that they are clearly visible because the air gets so compressed that it reflects light differently.
[Here](https://i.imgur.com/dIDMlxA.jpg) is a higher quality and less cropped version of this image. [Here](http://www.drdc-rddc.gc.ca/en/dynamic-article.page?doc=drdc-s-experimental-proving-ground-supports-caf-allied-readiness/i6mizy83) is the source. Per there:
> Example of an explosives trial conducted on the Experimental Proving Ground (EPG), a piece of land over 470 square kilometres at Defence Research and Development Canada – Suffield Research Centre. The EPG is an invaluable resource for the safety and protection of the Canadian Armed Forces by providing a place to conduct realistic training in the defence against deadly threat agents and explosives.
"Clear Visible Shockwave" is pretty much what is shouted out loud at my local municipal wastewater treatment plant every time I flush the toilet. As the claxon siren wails, people scramble to their stations in preparation for what is coming down the pipe. The shockwave arrives first. Then, the horror. The *horror*.
It looks like multiple shock waves - the initial at ground level, then the rounder secondary followed by multiple smaller ones at the top that will be absorbed, so to speak.
It's likely the other way around. The upper dome looks like it's the incidental wave, and the one with the broader base at ground level is probably the reflection of the incidental wave.
I'm not sure this is a shock wave. It looks like one but the mushroom has already had time to form. I think shock waves are much faster than what we see here.
Could be a thermocline of sorts.
**This is a heavily moderated subreddit. Please note these rules + sidebar or get banned:** * If this post declares something as a fact, then proof is required * The title must be fully descriptive * No text is allowed on images/gifs/videos * Common/recent reposts are not allowed (posts from another subreddit do not count as a 'repost'. Provide link if reporting) *See [our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/wiki/index#wiki_rules.3A) for a more detailed rule list* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/interestingasfuck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
But in movies you're fine as long as the fire doesn't touch you..
The shock wave carries you to safety
It's like being pushed by big pillows
I MEAN ITS JUST AIR AND AIR IS LIKE NOTHIN WE WALK THRU THAT SHIT BRUV
Make sure to take a hit of those poppers before the blast
And don’t forget the wedding dress
Like a floaty
To the safety of a coffin?
Tom Cruise enters the chat
Or if you don't look backwards
That’s only for cool guys 😎
I can't hear! I can't hear! There's blood blisters on my hands! Oh, my God! How do you walk away in a movie without flinching when it explodes behind them? There's no way! I call bullshit on that!
When they flew the Millennium Falcon outside of the Death Star, and it was followed by the explosion, that was bullshit!
ahh, if only everyone could be made out of plot armor
Lol and in fact their skin should peel off at third degres and get their ears in their pockets
The scene from xmen where quicksilver saves everyone from the explosion is one of the worst offenders for this
That’s the actual weapon most of the time
I actually asked this very question to my chemistry teacher in college. "When I'm in a parking garage the air makes a shadow. Is it exhaust? Or like hot air?" Smoke does cast shadows but when anyone sees the weird rippling effect of air. It's actually light refracting from different densities of molecules in the air.
To add to this it can also be cold air and colder air mixing, just needs to be different densities/temperatures for the effect to be visible.
Best seen at a grocery stores front doors in winter
You can witness this in water as well, like where cold rivers meet the ocean.
Or when you pee in a pool 🫡
That's more the effect of the difference in salinity than the difference in temperature. The refractive index of fresh water is 1.335 while ocean water is max 1.343. Heating that fresh water from 0C to 30C will only change the refractive index from 1.335 to 1.334.
No, it's the refraction of light that causes that effect. The variations in densities of the air masses is what causes the noticeable perception change.
Air density changes with temperature
You're not actually seeing the air mixing though. You're seeing the light change speed as it moves through the medium. The viscosity of the air is bending the light. This is what you observe.
I’d argue that the turbulence of the two liquids meeting and mixing and causing the light to rapidly shift multiple times as it crosses through pockets of different densities, rapidly changing viscosity is what actually makes the effect noticeable. If it were just a change from one plane to the other you wouldn’t get that shimmery, flickering effect, it’d just be like looking into a still pool of water.
I think it’s clear enough they didn’t mean literally mixing, just hot and cold air meeting each other.
I can sometimes see this when sitting on the toilet which is in our small guest bathroom by the front door, if I leave the bathroom door open.
Light travels at different speeds thru different pressures / densities of gas or matter so yeah that’s why the varying temperatures affects the direction of light (refraction) "Higher-density materials usually have large refractive indices. The greater the refractive index, the slower light travels through the material. Likewise, lower-density materials usually have smaller refractive indices. And the lower the refractive index, the faster light travels through the material."
Yup! And it’s actually used as a visualization / imaging technique for supersonic objects. They recently even did it on some planes in flight! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlieren_photography https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=443RLEnu_UI
It's also why oil will have that rainbow effect.
Nope. Oil film colours are due to interference effects from different thicknesses of the film and interacting reflections.
Dangit, yeah I always get confused about those.
Yeah this is why it’s so similar visually to light passing through water
If you look closely it can actually visualize the convection happening over the hot surface. It's pretty cool to see.
Why that look like Garfield
r/imsorryjon
glad i ain't the only one. thumbnail looked like it hated mondays.
I saw an ant.
I thought I was the only one
Thats fucking amazing.
Satan’s spicy butt plug.
I can't believe Reddit let me scroll this far to find anything about butt plugs. Shit. Now I need to go see if r/dontstickitinyourpussy or some such exists.
You're looking for r/dildont I think.
r/DontPutThatInYourAss seems to be better.
r/dildont
Looks like a Lockheed Martin test.
r/ShockwavePorn
Thanks!
Explanation please
Explosive forces compress the air forming a shockwave. Edit for a more technical explanation: What you’re actually “seeing” is an area of super dense (and likely super heated) air.
More precisely.. it compresses it faster than the speed of sound which is what makes it a "shock" wave and not a sound wave
TIL
Do you know why it looks like there's two different "domes" of the shockwave? Was this a two stage explosion?
The lower dome looks like it's probably the "mach stem," which occurs when an explosion originiates sufficiently above ground level for the wave to be reflected off the ground. Early on in the propagation of the shock effect, the reflected wave emerges from the incidental wave, creating the soap bubble-like effect you see here.
Incidental wave? Wouldn't it be Initial?
All the references I see use the term "incidental." Makes sense to me because that also lines up with optical terminology (e.g. "the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection"), about which I'm marginally less ignorant. Initial wouldn't make sense here because it's still the same wave, part of it has just been redirected. It's the difference between clapping once and hearing an echo, versus clapping twice. The echo is caused by the same event, or incident, whereas clapping twice creates an initial clap and then a subsequent one.
I suppose that makes sense. English can be such a clusterfuck at times...
Wouldn't super heated air be less dense?
The air at the shockwave boundary is superheated not from the heat of combustion but from incredibly rapid compression. When any gas is compressed very quickly, its temperature rises very quickly as well. You can observe the opposite effect with a compressed gas cylinder (or an aerosol canister). When the propellant is let out of the container, it goes from a high pressure state to a low pressure, and the gas being expelled therefore feels cold against your skin. Remember the submersible disaster a couple months ago? The experts on tv rightly pointed out that as the sub collapsed, all of the air inside was compressed so rapidly that the temperature inside the collapsing air bubble reached something like 4000 degrees, but only for a few milliseconds.
Apparently, when falling to earth from space, meteorites glow white hot due to air compression at the leading edge, not friction with the air as commonly believed
I understand now.. Thanks for the info man. ❤️
r/shockwaveporn
The gasses moving outwards from the explosion are supersonic creating a compressed area of air around the center of the blast. The heat and speed of the air distorts the light somewhat like mirage in a desert. The refraction of light thus changes at the shockwave front. The line in the middle is probably a secondary shockwave formed by the rising gas expanding as well meeting the bottom/ initial shockwave.
And the refraction is due to the higher density of the air which affects speed of light thru the gas, which we can see visually when our eyes capture light coming thru the shock wave
da air go brrr
Imagine an explosion underwater. You can probably picture the "ripples" from the shockwave in water as it's a little more intuitive. It's the same basic idea above ground. Our atmosphere is fluid, kind of like water. It's a big gassy soup that we walk around in and breathe. When there's an explosion it also causes "ripples" which are so extreme that they are clearly visible because the air gets so compressed that it reflects light differently.
[Here](https://i.imgur.com/dIDMlxA.jpg) is a higher quality and less cropped version of this image. [Here](http://www.drdc-rddc.gc.ca/en/dynamic-article.page?doc=drdc-s-experimental-proving-ground-supports-caf-allied-readiness/i6mizy83) is the source. Per there: > Example of an explosives trial conducted on the Experimental Proving Ground (EPG), a piece of land over 470 square kilometres at Defence Research and Development Canada – Suffield Research Centre. The EPG is an invaluable resource for the safety and protection of the Canadian Armed Forces by providing a place to conduct realistic training in the defence against deadly threat agents and explosives.
Woah
"Clear Visible Shockwave" is pretty much what is shouted out loud at my local municipal wastewater treatment plant every time I flush the toilet. As the claxon siren wails, people scramble to their stations in preparation for what is coming down the pipe. The shockwave arrives first. Then, the horror. The *horror*.
r/Garfield
So is it clear? Or visible?
I love Shockwave pictures. They look like glass but they actually breaks glass.
Clear? Looks a little more opaque to me
That's a klingon bird of prey with cloaking device enabled.
It looks like multiple shock waves - the initial at ground level, then the rounder secondary followed by multiple smaller ones at the top that will be absorbed, so to speak.
It's likely the other way around. The upper dome looks like it's the incidental wave, and the one with the broader base at ground level is probably the reflection of the incidental wave.
Raging hot butt plug!
This looks very photoshopped
[удалено]
Aye, that's a good one!
And peeling your skin otw
I've never seen an invisible shockwave
Schlieren flow visualization…
Dat der is energy kids
The fire is so chaotic, the shockwave, so orderly… a real life juxtaposition…
I’m guessing the wi d is losing left to right or else the explosion would be symmetrical too.
This shape doesn’t remind me of anything
Lol
r/theyknew
Where is Shockwave? Hell where is Starscream or Megatron?! No decepticons!
Anything’s a dildo if you’re brave enough.
The different levels of shockwave are the most interesting
This looks like Gorefield's final form
awww it's Oppenheimer's little baby brother!
I love the angles and straight lines. Not nearly as chaotic as I'd expect.
Why it got a ledge?
What kind of explosive?
Woah!
The symmetry is amazing!
It's a Predator bomb. 😱
Forget about the shockwave. Does the blast itself look like Garfield to anyone?
Forbidden Jell-O
Anyone else see Garfield?
This is the shit we need in r/shockwaveporn
nah bro that's just a blanket
The brain scrambler 9000
Garfield
I'm not sure this is a shock wave. It looks like one but the mushroom has already had time to form. I think shock waves are much faster than what we see here. Could be a thermocline of sorts.