The Mach cone shock wave is the three-dimensional analog of a boat’s V-shaped wake

Evidence

Figure 7.30 shows the cone-shaped shock wave that forms above Mach 1.0. Nearly everyone has seen analogous patterns in the wake of a fast boat. The boat is traveling faster through the water than any of the waves it produces. The characteristic V-shaped boat wake is the two-dimensional analog of what happens in three dimensions with sound. (However, the details for a boat wake are different, since water waves travel faster for longer wavelengths, unlike sound.) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 628

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the Cherenkov radiation cone in particle physics — same geometry of a source outrunning its own wavefront, a unifying analogy across all wave phenomena. — connects to: The hologram creates a mirrored universe where Mach said none could exist — Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, 355