supersonicadj.int.n.

1919 Electrician 25 Apr. 494/2 The French have experimented with a system in which a continuous wave signal is heterodyned to a supersonic frequency.

1920 Physical Rev. 15 404 In certain experiments carried out during the war use was made of a small absorbing cylinder to measure pressure and hence energy density of super-sonic waves in water.

1930 Daily Express 22 May 6/5 The wireless enthusiast, whether..crystal-set owner or disciple of the supersonic heterodyne, will still have his moments of doubt.

1957 I. Murdoch Sandcastle xiv. 224 The next act was to blow a long blast upon the supersonic whistle.

1980 Daily Tel. 5 Mar. 17/4 The Fisheries Agency team is using supersonic waves of 24 kilohertz which..have proved effective in repelling the dolphins without affecting ordinary fish.

2009 F. Gallaugher Olympus E-P1 156/2 Each time the camera powers on, a filter placed just in front of the sensor vibrates at a super-sonic frequency.

1932 Hydrodynamics (Bull. (U.S.) Res. Council) No. 84 iv. ii. 549 A bullet travelling with supersonic velocity is accompanied by a conical wave of finite amplitude as is clearly shown by the photographs of Mach.

1934 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 38 866 (heading) Supersonic wind channel for model tests.

1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway xii. 313 It [sc. an aircraft] was at the speed of sound... He said he'd been through to the supersonic zone several times.

1953 Hansard Commons 11 May 881 As for the problem of the supersonic bang, I must tell the hon. Gentleman that there is absolutely no solution in sight. In fact, we are probably in for some rather noisy times.

1978 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts Dec. 37/1 The Concorde is to-day the precursor of much larger supersonic transport aircraft in years to come.

1982 J. McPhee in New Yorker 13 Sept. 53/1 An expanding combination of carbon dioxide and water..moves so fast driving magma to the surface that it breaks into the atmosphere at supersonic speeds.

1990 D. J. Calvert Harrier (‘Aircraft Illustr.’ Special) 7/3 Subsequent trials explored the high-speed end of the envelope, and supersonic flight (in a dive) was achieved on 12 December 1961.

2001 Navy News Sept. 9/3 Supersonic fighters with better weapons and sensors were in service with the US Navy, and the superb Phantom F4 had already flown.

1947 Times 1 Jan. 3/3 Cooperation in research will cover tests now being carried out by both countries in the field of supersonics, guided missiles, and the development of jet aircraft engines.

1968 Economist 11 May 71/1 With jumbo jets and the supersonics on the horizon, aviation insurers had enough to worry about already.

1985 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 9 May 6 The US needs to press ahead with research on a broad range of advanced aircraft—including supersonics—if it is to remain competitive in world aerospace.

2002 M. W. Lawrence Big Life in Advertising (2003) 33 Many airlines were placing orders for supersonics.

1931 Jrnl. Agric. Res. 15 June 843 The soil material to be supersonically treated was placed in an extra tall Erlenmeyer flask to which water was added and the flask lowered into the mound of agitated oil.

1946 Billboard 3 Aug. 5/2–3 (heading) Public services flies supersonically above blue book.

1952 Chambers's Jrnl. June 363/2 They [sc. rats] are being lured forth by their mating-note, produced supersonically, and trapped as they emerge.

1970 Daily Tel. 2 Sept. 26/6 The St David's Civic Society..has launched a national campaign to stop the Concorde flying supersonically over land.

1999 Daily Tel. 12 Mar. 12/5 There will be important differences because the moon's shadow that causes the eclipse is only 100 kilometres wide and travels supersonically across the Earth's surface.

2005 L. Neporent & S. Schlosberg Fat-free Truth 161 Unless you're working out at supersonically high intensity, cardio exercise doesn't usually tear down muscles the same way lifting weights does.