Originally posted by Shallowford:
My issue with the speed of sound and L&C is, "Where are the sonic booms?" Clark often moves too fast to be seen. The generous assumption is that the room has fluorescent lighting and he moves during the dark phase of the flicker. In that case, he could move about 18 feet (6 m) before breaking the speed of sound. I don't remember the episode but Clark moves way farther than that when he catches the coffee pot, rescues the maintenance man and returns while Lois is talking to him.
So, Clark must be making sonic booms. So what? Almost all of the damage caused by the Russian meteorite this month was due to the sonic boom rather than the impact. Tornadoes cause most of their damage by rapid changes in air pressure and they're only moving 3-400 MPH (6-800 KmPH). Imagine one inside a building. There would be a lot more going on than papers thrown into the air.
I have seen a story on the Archive that addresses the issue, but just one. The author had Superman wave his arms like an eggbeater while flying to minimize the changes in air pressure when he wanted to avoid sonic booms.
That would be "Never Ending Battle" where he does all those things quickly. Maybe one of Clark's super-powers is creating counter-sound to mask the sonic boom.
