[Deguello]

I had asked in a previous post the relationship of sonic booms and the Columbia debris with very little response.

That morning in Arlington, Texas, I was in the east by northeast section of town and did not hear any sonic booms. My wife was at home six miles west of my point and had a house shaking boom. An other friend 10 miles east-south east heard the sound barrier broken.

Is there a correlation to sonic booms and Columbia debris? Is mass a function of the sound? Would each partical of debris breaking the sound barrier be relative of the mass of the item to the volume created? Distance of travel of the sonic boom relative of the mass?

[CPOSharky]

I didn't hear any booms either here in Allen TX about 30 miles north of Dallas. But folks five miles south and five miles east of me did.

[no-s]

Any dense piece coming in your general direction could have caused a boom. Even if the piece slowed down below mach 1 prior to hitting the ground it might have been preceded by a boom. Even a small piece could make a crack like a nearby lightning strike (small on the order of a few pounds, rifle bullet size probably not).

I notice the piece in the bank parking lot in Nacogdoches was preceded by a boom which blew in the back doors of the bank building.

Also a piece landing at the time of the breakup would be heard prior to the sound of the breakup.

However, location from the sound is not going to be very precise. Even gunshot locaters have a hard time of it, and they record the time and amplitude pretty accurately.

[MeekOneGOP]

I heard it at my house in Northeast Dallas County. It was loud enough to make me turn my head and perk my ear up, thinking 'what was THAT?!'. It wasn't long, thanks to FOX News Channel, before I realized what it was...

[El Gato]

Is mass a function of the sound?

In general, yes, the sound is more intense for a larger object. Shape matters too.