Open AccessCharacteristics of Infrasonic Signals from Rockets
Author(s) -
Balachandran Nambath K.,
Donn William L.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
geophysical journal of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1365-246X
pISSN - 0016-8009
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-246x.1971.tb03387.x
Subject(s) - infrasound , acoustics , booster (rocketry) , amplitude , physics , signal (programming language) , interference (communication) , geology , meteorology , channel (broadcasting) , engineering , computer science , optics , astronomy , telecommunications , programming language
Summary Infrasound has been recorded at long range from the launch and the re‐entry of the first stage booster of Saturn V rockets. Detailed study has been made with the use of an acoustic ray‐tracing procedure that involved actual temperature and wind data at the launch site and along the propagation path. Details of signal arrival times and duration are shown to be controlled by the nature of the ground‐based sound channel, which in turn is determined by the atmospheric structure below about 60 km. Fluctuations in signal amplitudes are explained on the basis of interference of acoustic rays.