MadSci Network: Physics
Query:

Re: Why does a person fly back when a bomb explodes if waves dont carry matter?

Date: Thu Apr 23 14:40:03 1998
Posted By: Greg Billock, grad student,Caltech
Area of science: Physics
ID: 893017716.Ph
Message:


>Why does a person fly back when a bomb explodes if
>waves don't carry matter?

Waves don't carry matter, but they do carry energy, which can be expressed in the movement of matter. Think of yourself on a boat. When the waves go by underneath, their energy lifts you up and lets you down.

In an explosion in the air, the pressure waves are a motion of the air. If this motion is enough, it can transfer to a person's body and send them flying.

-Greg Billock


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