Why does a white cloud form around jets
The study explains that the famous image showing a fighter jet surrounded by a white cloud rim does not definitively prove that it has broken the sound barrier. This is because the formation of that cloud depends on humidity and air conditions in the atmosphere, not solely on the aircraft's speed. When an aircraft moves at high speed through humid air, water vapor condenses around parts of it, forming a vapor cone. However, this cone can appear even if the aircraft's speed is below the speed of sound. Additionally, the appearance of this phenomenon is influenced by weather conditions and does not necessarily indicate that the aircraft has surpassed the speed of sound, as the shockwave and its persistence produced by supersonic speeds do not always show up in the image. Therefore, the image does not definitively confirm that the aircraft has broken the sound barrier; rather, it shows the presence of a region of supersonic flow or a shock wave in the atmosphere.
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