Part 3/6:
One of the key challenges in commercializing supersonic flight is mitigating the disruptive effects of sonic booms. Scientists and engineers aim to develop aircraft designs that minimize the intensity and reach of these shock waves—often referred to as "reducing the boom." The goal is to make the sonic booms as faint and inconsequential as possible to allow for faster, quieter supersonic travel over populated areas.
Designing such aircraft involves understanding and manipulating how air flows over the craft's surfaces. The fluid dynamics involved are highly complex, with airflow behaviors that are difficult to predict or model precisely. Traditional methods relied heavily on empirical testing.