July 1, 2009 — -- Pilots in the years after World War II used to think of the sound barrier as an invisible ... The phenomenon is called a vapor cone or a shock collar, and, if you want ...

The cloud is known as a vapor cone, or sometimes called a "shock ... Even so, it's not visual evidence that the plane is breaking the sound barrier, per the BBC: The vapour cones are created ...

The moments when a jet fighter created a vapour cone as it approached the sound barrier have been captured in stunning detail in a set of photos - but it is not the moment the jet broke the sound ...

As the aircraft continues to speed up, the vapor cloud will appear farther toward the rear of the aircraft. Then, just as the aircraft bursts through the sound barrier, the air is locally ...

It takes anxious skill, precision, and a certain amount of luck to catch the split second when an airplane this effect - compressed air building up behind an aircraft before it breaks the sound ...

Under just the right conditions, this vapor cone shows up, often as a jet approaches the speed of sound, but other times even at lower speeds. In this case, he’s probably not going that fast ...