Sound barrier
![U.S. Navy F/A-18 within the sound barrier. The white cloud is formed by decreased air pressure and temperature around the tail of the aircraft (see Prandtl-Glauert Singularity).[1][2]](/uploads/202502/12/FA-18_Hornet_breaking_sound_barrier_(7_July_1999)_-_filtered1408.jpg)



The sound barrier or sonic barrier is a popular term for the sudden increase in aerodynamic drag and other effects experienced by an aircraft or other object when it approaches supersonic speed. When aircraft first began to be able to reach close to supersonic speed, these effects were seen as constituting a barrier making supersonic speed very difficult or impossible.