* A shock wave is a longitudinal wave carrying high energy. * It is narrow wave front of width about a micrometer. * A shock wave is a strong pressure wave produced in an elastic medium such as air, water or a solid. * It travels at a supersonic speed i.e., for a shock wave Mach number, M> 1. * A shock wave is produced due to supersonic aircraft, explosion, lightening, etc. * It is characterized by abrupt and discontinuous (non-linear) change in the properties of the medium. That is, there is an extremely rapid rise (adiabatic) in local density, pressure and temperature of the medium. * A shock wave is a longitudinal wave. But it is different from conventional sound wave (It changes properties of gas rapidly but over a small region) * A shock wave travels faster than sound and its speed depends on its amplitude. * The amplitude decreases rapidly with distance following inverse square law. * A shock wave cannot be directly heard. Over a long distance, shock waves wil...