WHAT WAS THAT

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Matthew - 22 Dec 2006 23:27 GMT

These poor furballs.
When the shuttle is coming in for an approach the area I live in is in a
direct line for lining up to land.
The sonic boom was loud enough to set off car alarms.
They are still hiding under the bed.

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mlbriggs - 23 Dec 2006 00:10 GMT

> These poor furballs.
> When the shuttle is coming in for an approach the area I live in is in a
> direct line for lining up to land.
> The sonic boom was loud enough to set off car alarms.
> They are still hiding under the bed.

I heard a sonic boom once -- thought it was an explosion. MLB

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Jo Firey - 23 Dec 2006 01:17 GMT

>> These poor furballs.
>> When the shuttle is coming in for an approach the area I live in is in a
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> I heard a sonic boom once -- thought it was an explosion. MLB

Its funny, when you get a lot of them like we do, you tune out the ones that
come from the usual direction.

Kind of like when my sister lived next to the train tracks. The trains
didn't bother them as long as they stayed on schedule.

Or when Charlie went to work at 3am. And his car backfired every time he
started it. The neighbors said they only heard it if he was late going to
work.

Poor cats. You can't miss it when its that close.

Jo

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jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt@sonic.net - 23 Dec 2006 02:48 GMT

> "mlbriggs" <mlbriggs@nospam.com> wrote in message

>> I heard a sonic boom once -- thought it was an explosion. MLB

> Its funny, when you get a lot of them like we do, you tune out the ones that
> come from the usual direction.

Jo, don't you live in the Central Valley in California? Where is there
a shuttle landing area??

> Or when Charlie went to work at 3am. And his car backfired every time he
> started it. The neighbors said they only heard it if he was late going to
> work.

That's really interesting. Our unconcious brains are a lot more active
and alert than we give them credit for! They know when it's 3AM so the
noise doesn't cause them to alert us to the sound since it's a regular
occurrence with no consequences. But if it happens at a different time,
the unconcious mind seems to need to wake us up to attend to a potentially
dangerous situation.

> Poor cats. You can't miss it when its that close.

Yeah, purrs to Matthew's bunch - sorry they don't seem to be used to
that noise after all this time.

Last night my hot water heater started acting up. It's in the back
hallway off my kitchen, so I can easily change the temperature I want
for the water. However, if I turn it up to a decent temp, the heater
starts hissing loudly. So I have to keep it on "warm", which is not
really a sanitary temperature for dishwashing, and not even very hot
for showers.

So last night I wanted it hot, to run the dishwasher. I turned it up,
not to an outrageously hot temperature, but more like in between
"warm" and "hot". Within 10 minutes or so, it started hissing. OK, I
was willing to put up with it, even though it's an obnoxious noise.

But then, about half an hour after I turned up the heat, it started
making a really loud horn-like sound - actually, a bit like those
compressed-air horns that you hear at sports events, except this sound
was *sustained*, for quite some time. I'll tell you, the kitties were
not pleased. Neither was I, and not just because the sound was very
annoying. I was worried that there was too much steam pressure in the
hot water heater and that something was going to blow and spew hot
steam and water all over the place.

I turned the heat down, but it continued to hiss and occasionally
blat out the horrible noise, much to the alarm of the felines. I hate
this stupid hot water heater. And I won't be able to get a new one,
I'm sure, because my landlord just bought this one in 2000. He's a
real tightwad and he probably bought a really cheap one.

Joyce

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Jo Firey - 23 Dec 2006 03:46 GMT

> > "mlbriggs" <mlbriggs@nospam.com> wrote in message
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Jo, don't you live in the Central Valley in California? Where is there
> a shuttle landing area??

We live close to Beale AFB. Former home of the SR71, current home of the U2
and who knows what else. The "things" they fly out of Edwards AFB in S
California often make stops or flybys here. They usually try to keep the
boom over the nearby mountains to keep the public happy and quiet.

Jo

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jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt@sonic.net - 24 Dec 2006 00:02 GMT

> <jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt@sonic.net> wrote in message

>>> Its funny, when you get a lot of them like we do, you tune out
>>> that come from the usual direction.

>> Jo, don't you live in the Central Valley in California? Where is there
>> a shuttle landing area??

> We live close to Beale AFB. Former home of the SR71, current home of the U2
> and who knows what else. The "things" they fly out of Edwards AFB in S
> California often make stops or flybys here. They usually try to keep the
> boom over the nearby mountains to keep the public happy and quiet.

I didn't even realize that "sonic booms" still existed. I remember they
happened all the time when I was a kid (in the 1960s), whenever a really
fast jet was going by. But after a while, you didn't hear them any more,
and I just figured that technology had developed to a point that they
knew how to prevent it.

I used to wonder exactly what caused the "boom", but then I forgot all
about it. OK, off to Wikipedia to find out...

Joyce

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jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt@sonic.net - 24 Dec 2006 00:43 GMT

> I didn't even realize that "sonic booms" still existed. I remember they
> happened all the time when I was a kid (in the 1960s), whenever a really
> fast jet was going by. But after a while, you didn't hear them any more,
> and I just figured that technology had developed to a point that they
> knew how to prevent it.

> I used to wonder exactly what caused the "boom", but then I forgot all
> about it. OK, off to Wikipedia to find out...

Well. Now that I've read a bit about it, I see that the sonic boom I
remember from childhood was not caused by ordinary commercial jets after
all. That's what I thought - maybe it's what my mother (who wouldn't have
known much about it herself) told me.

However, there were many tests of supersonic flight during the mid-60s
in the US (also the USSR - maybe other places, too?), and that's what
caused the booms.

They were stopped in the early 70s due to huge numbers of complaints
and class-action lawsuits re: the noise pollution. So my memory of the
time periods involved, when the booms were frequent and when they
stopped, is correct, at least!

I remember that the boom was explained as being caused by planes
"crossing the sound barrier", which I pictured as a physical thing the
plane was kind of crashing through. And according to Wikipedia, that's
not far from what was believed by scientists early on in the development
of supersonic flight, though perhaps not by the 1960s.

Another point of interest from Wikipedia: the crack of a bullwhip is
also a sonic boom, because the tip of the whip travels faster than sound.

Joyce, having another day off :)

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Joy - 24 Dec 2006 01:23 GMT

> > <jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt@sonic.net> wrote in message
>
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
>
> Joyce

It's true we seldom hear one nowadays. However, the space shuttle always
makes a double boom when it comes in for a landing. Although the first
several shuttle flights landed in California, I usually didn't hear it.
Then one day I was at a local airport getting ready to go up for a practice
flight with my husband, when I heard the double boom. Immediately I
remembered that the shuttle was due to land that day. Sure enough, that's
what we had heard. After that, I heard it every time the shuttle landed
here. Of course, the most exciting was the time I got to go to Edwards Air
Force Base to see the landing.

Joy

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mlbriggs - 23 Dec 2006 06:03 GMT

On Sat, 23 Dec 2006 02:48:32 +0000, jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt wrote:

> > "mlbriggs" <mlbriggs@nospam.com> wrote in message
>
[quoted text clipped - 50 lines]
>
> Joyce

Have you tried draining some water from the bottom of the tank?.
Many years ago, I had a water heater that was ready to blow. Pure steam
came from the faucets. I called the gas company and then I went outside
to flag down the repairman. It is best not to take chances. Another
thought: does it have A pressure relief valve? If not, call for help.
Better safe than sorry.

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Adrian A - 23 Dec 2006 11:40 GMT

> These poor furballs.
> When the shuttle is coming in for an approach the area I live in is
> in a direct line for lining up to land.
> The sonic boom was loud enough to set off car alarms.
> They are still hiding under the bed.

If the weather hadn't improved there it would have landed in New Mexico, one
occasion when you don't want better weather. ;-)

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Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart.
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