Shock Wave in the Beirut Explosion: Theory and Video Analysis
Chaotic Dynamics
2026-03-12 v2 High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Geophysics
Abstract
Videos of the 2020 Beirut explosion offer a rare opportunity to see a shock wave. We summarize the non-linear theory of a weak shock, derive the Landau-Whitham formula for the thickness of the overpressure layer and, using frame-by-frame video analysis, we demonstrate agreement of data and theory.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2510.24742,
title = {Shock Wave in the Beirut Explosion: Theory and Video Analysis},
author = {Adam J. Czarnecki and Andrzej Czarnecki and Raquel Secrist and Julia Willsey},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.24742},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
9 pages, 5 figures