A shock wave is a strong pressure wave in any elastic medium such as air, water, or a solid substance, produced by supersonic aircraft, explosions, lightning, or other phenomena that create violent changes in pressure. Shock waves differ from sound waves in that the wave front, in which compression takes place, is a region of sudden and violent change in stress, density, and temperature. Because of this, shock waves propagate in a manner different from that of ordinary acoustic waves. In particular, shock waves travel faster than sound, and their speed increases as the amplitude is raised; but the intensity of a shock wave also decreases faster than does that of a sound wave, because some of the energy of the shock wave is expended to heat the medium in which it travels. The amplitude of a strong shock wave, as created in air by an explosion, decreases almost as the inverse square of the distance until the wave has become so weak that it obeys the laws of acoustic waves. Shock waves alter the mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of solids and, thus, can be used to study the equation of state (a relation between pressure, temperature, and volume) of any material.

A bow wave or bow shock is the progressive disturbance propagated through a fluid such as water or air as the result of displacement by the foremost point of an object moving through it. Viewed from above, the crest of the bow wave of a moving ship is V-shaped; the sharpness of the V is determined by the relative speeds of the ship and of the propagation of waves in the water.

Excerpt from the Encyclopedia Britannica without permission.