Any fluid that propagates at
supersonic speeds (Supersonic waves are mechanical waves which
travel with speeds greater than that of sound), give rise to shock waves. Shock waves are produced in nature
during earth quakes and when lightning strikes. Shock waves can be produced by
a sudden dissipation of mechanical energy in a medium enclosed in a small
space.
Applications of shock waves
1. Cell information
2. Wood preservation
3. In pencil industry
4. Kidney stone treatment
5. Gas dynamic studies
6. Shock wave assisted needleless
drug delivery
7. Treatment of dry borewells
8. For compaction of ceramic
powders
9. In the design of engines,
jets, rockets and turbines
10. In the design of ducts and
pipes
11. In the treatment of bone
fractures
Methods of creating shock waves in the laboratory using a shock tube
1.Using a Reddy shock tube
2. Detonation
3. Very high pressure gas
cylinder
4. Combustion
5. Using small charge of
explosives
