Loudest Sound Ever?

Led Zeppelin. Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, TX. 1975.

@onhwy61-  Scientifically speaking: shockwaves and sound waves are two distinctly different phenomena.

    A shockwave resulting from an energetic enough explosion, can travel 100 times faster than the speed of sound.

    A shockwave's wave-form also differs from that of sound, as does how it affects the surrounding gas.

                    ie: https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/pubs/00326956.pdf

    However one defines it: the sound of Krakatoa's eruptions were heard 3000 miles from the source, on Rodrigues Island.    

                                                        What a blast!

for all the service members - thank you for the sacrifice you made for our country.

My office in St Louis was at the door where every F4 ( etc ) rolled out. Certainly legendary loud and proud.

On top fuel, I grew up 10 miles from Norwalk Raceway Park on Ohio 13. And ran crew and drove a bracket 69 RT with Keith Black 440 Wedge. You guys are so right, that was tame compared to the chest impact noise of Top fuel……i gotta get to an event soon…

carry on !

For me the loudest sound I can recall, would be from a RAF Vulcan bomber displays at the Abbotsford Airshow back in the 1970's. Those Rolls Royce Olympus engines at full thrust howled and ripped the air. It was an impressive part of the demonstration. Honourable mention would be the SR-71 demo at the 1986 Abbotsford Airshow. With both engines in  afterburner  that aircraft roared to impressive levels, very exciting.

 

Also to add, back in the day of my hi-fi retail and car audio, it was the in thing to have DB contests. Our shop ran one and  I had the setup to mic each car competing. Of course all these cars were insanely loud.

 I recall one kid (20 something) as I set up the microphone on the passenger seat and asked if he wanted to put on the industrial grade over the ear hearing protection. To which he looked at me and said NO. I thought he was nuts but so be it. I got out of the car and closed the door and off he went.

The booming bass notes from the audio he was playing was literally and visibly  shaking  the whole car, rattles and such abound. I looked inside and  figured this kid wants to be deaf before he was 25. I mean outside of the car it had to be well over 100db. I'm tying to remember  how  loud the decibel  meter was showing... I'm  sure it was like 135db. I COULDN'T  BELIEVE THIS GUY WAS INSIDE HIS CAR RUNNING THE AUDIO SYTEM!