> What was the first invention to break the sound barrier?And the answer: bullwhip. Made of braided leather, the bullwhip was invented about 2,000 years ago. Thetip of a bullwhip is thought to be the first human-made object to break thesound barrier, resulting in the telltale "crack" of the whip. This "crack" soundis actually a small sonic boom.To break the sound barrier, you (or your bullwhip) must exceed about 770 mph atsea level. Environmental factors such as weather and altitude can affect thesechances, but generally any speed higher than the given amount will amount in asonic boom of some degree. During World War II, a common misconception for thesound barrier was quite literal, as fighter pilots spoke of striking an"invisible wall" powerful enough to tear apart entire aircraft. Though futurestudies revealed that the "barrier" pilots spoke of was no more than intensedrag created by shockwaves, the aerodynamic design necessary for a plane tosuccessfully break the sound barrier was not created until the following decade. How does it work?Pressure waves, or better known sound waves, propagate at the speed of sound.When an aircraft is moving faster than the speed of sound (breaking the soundbarrier), the pressure waves do not propagate in front of the aircraft, butrather create a wave, similar to the wake of a boat, that follows along. A sonicboom is that sound wave passing by the observer.However, bullwhips and aircraft aren't the only things powerful enough to breakthrough the sound barrier. A particular species of shrimp known as pistol shrimphave the unique ability to stun their prey with an extremely sharp snap of theirclaws. Despite being less than an inch long, pistol shrimp can emit a soundreaching as loud as 218 decibels – equivalent to the sound of a gunshot. Checkout these powerful shrimp in action below: