An ordinary squirt of canned air achieves supersonic speeds – engineer spots telltale shock diamonds

A precision engineering and machining YouTuber noticed telltale ‘shock diamonds’ in the stream emitted by his Staples-branded canned air and felt compelled to investigate further. Using a Schlieren imaging setup the YouTuber confirmed that the air duster was pushing out a supersonic flow of gas. 

A precision engineering and machining YouTuber noticed telltale ‘shock diamonds’ in the stream emitted by his Staples-branded canned air and felt compelled to investigate further. Using a Schlieren imaging setup the YouTuber confirmed that the air duster was pushing out a supersonic flow of gas.