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What exactly is the sound barrier? The sound barrier is the sudden increase in aerodynamic drag as an object approaches the speed of sound (about 767 mph, or Mach 1). Once something exceeds this speed, a visible white cloud forms from the temperature and decreased air pressure around the wings and tail of the plane. Those watching a plane from a distance will notice the plane flying through the air silently with a cloudy trail, to then be followed by an abrupt shockwave of sound. Breaking the sound barrier is not considered a simple task, and many things go into pulling off the sonic boom.

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Even if you have a plane capable of Mach 1 speed or faster, it is just as important to have an experienced pilot to fly it. You will need someone with at least a few years of flying a jet; having the ability to control a plane at high speeds, and land it is crucial for success. The pilot selected to fly the X-1 is the great Chuck Yeager, who enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army Air Corps at the age of 18 and served in World War II, where he flew 64 combat missions. Yeager is famously known for having 20/10 vision, which only adds on to his incredible career. In addition to Yeager, Jackie Cochran, was the most prominent racing pilots of her generation. She was an important contributor to the formation of the wartime Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) and was the first woman to break the sound barrier. Both of these pilots were extremely experienced in their flying capabilities, and set the standard for selecting a good pilot to fly.

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Once obtaining a plane and a good pilot, you then need to look for a good test site somewhere to fly and land. The X-1 was flown 43,000 ft in the air over over the Mojave Desert near Muroc Dry Lake, California. A large open space that has room to land safely if a problem occurs is highly suggested. Avoid highly populated areas as much as possible, as sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to the human ear. This can cause minor damage to the hearing of people below the plane as it flies overhead.

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Not just any plane can break the sound barrier. The common passenger plane can cruise at 460 to 575 mph maximum. A special kind of plane will be needed to fly 200+ mph more than a simple passenger plane. The very first plane that pulled off supersonic speed was the X-1, also known as the Glamorous Glennis. The X-1 was specifically designed for the act of traveling faster than the speed of sound. It was also built to absorb 18 times the force of gravity. Unlike most planes, it didn't take off from the ground, but was instead flown up and dropped from the belly of a B-29. This conserved the much needed fuel for the X-1 and was successful.

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Having a good understanding of what the sound barrier is, and how to break it is the beginning to the madness. Once a fast enough plane, experienced pilot, and a good test site is acquired, the only thing holding someone back is the amount of fuel they have in the tank. All of these steps were taken into account when people first started to wonder if a well built plane, let alone a human, could endure the force of going faster than sound. The truth is, those who are in the plane going faster than the speed of sound feel motionless, as if they were not doing anything on the ground. Today, the fastest a plane has gone is Mach 9.6, or nearly 7,000 mph; this was set by NASA's X-43A scramjet in 2004. These 5 steps have gotten us to today, and the future will have in store even faster speeds as technology advances and planes simply become faster than they ever have been before