Gadget Freak Case #131: This Gadget Blows a Sonic Boom

Earlier this year, John Tindall had the envious job as science builder on the first season of the History Channel's “UFO Hunters.” One episode contemplated the possibility UFOs could create sonic booms — the powerful noise that comes when the sound barrier is shattered. The show's creators asked Tindall to recreate a sonic boom without flying a fighter jet at 600 mph. So Tindall built the Sonic Boom Cannon Array, a gadget that weighs more than 4,000 lb and produces an on-ground sonic boom. The device sits on a 24-ft trailer and compresses air until it creates a pressure wave that “cracks” into a sonic boom.