Among the squawks, roars and bellows that must have filled the Jurassic period, one sound would have been loud enough to silence them all - the whip of a sauropod's tail.

Computer simulations have previously shown the tail of the Apatosaurus louisae would have lashed like Indiana Jones' iconic bullwhip, moving fast enough to create a sonic boom.

Now, a dinosaur enthusiast has built a scale model of the tail to not only prove it could have broken the sound barrier, but that it could have exceeded it.

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Computer simulations have previously shown the tail of the Apatosaurus louisae would have lashed like a bullwhip, moving fast enough to create a sonic boom. Now, a dinosaur enthusiast has built a scale model of the tail to not only prove it could have broken the sound barrier, but that it could have exceeded it

The computer simulations and model were tested and built by computer scientist Nathan Myhrvold and University of Alberta paleontologist Philip Currie.

Dr Myhrvold previously worked for Microsoft and is now boss of Intellectual Ventures.

In the 1997 paper 'Supersonic Sauropods? Tail Dynamics in the Diplodocids', which featured in the journal Paleobiology, the pair ran a series of computer models to see if the tail of the Apatosaurus louisae could reach supersonic velocities.

THE CRACK OF THE BULLWHIP Bullwhips taper from the handle to the tip of the whip. This tip is known as the 'cracker'. When the whip is swung, energy is transferred from the handle through the whip to the tapering end. As the mass decreases, the velocity increases which causes the 'cracker' to move at speeds faster than sound. Breaking this barrier is what causes a sonic boom in the whips, but also in supersonic aircraft. The tails of sauropods had a similar structure and, when whipped, would have produced a similar transfer of energy. Advertisement

They compared the sound and motion to that created by the crack of a bullwhip.

Bullwhips taper from the handle to the tip of the whip.

This tip is known as the 'cracker'.

When the whip is swung, energy is transferred from the handle through the whip to the tapering end.

As the mass decreases, the velocity increases which causes the 'cracker' to move at speeds faster than sound.

Breaking this barrier is what causes a sonic boom in the whips, but also in supersonic aircraft.

The tails of sauropods had a similar structure and, when whipped, would have produced a similar transfer of energy.

Dr Myhrvold and Dr Currie discovered that as the tail whipped, the vertebrae lengthened and this caused the end to move fast enough to break the sound barrier.

'In all cases, it was easy to find simulations that produced supersonic motion,' the scientists wrote. To put their simulations to the test, Dr Myhrvold and Dr Currie built a scale model of a Apatosaurus tail and filmed it using high-speed cameras. The tail (pictured) was built using aluminium and stainless steel The tail was designed in a program called Mathematica. Neoprene and teflon were used inside the tail to simulate intervertebral tissue 'The geometric scaling of vertebral dimensions found in the various diplodocids strongly suggests that any of them, or non-diplodocid sauropods with 'whiplash' tails, would share this capability.' With one side-to-side flick, the researchers found that a wave of energy could accelerate through the length of the tail causing this tip to reach velocities of at least 750mph (1,207km/h), and in some case higher. This equates to 335 metres per second. The speed of sound is around 340 metres per second, or 761mph (1,224km/h) although this can vary depending on whether the speed is achieved at sea level or not. At the time, the pair said: 'We must confess that it is pleasing to think that the first residents of Earth to exceed the sound barrier were not humans, but rather the diplodocid sauropods.' In their 1997 paper 'Supersonic Sauropods? Tail Dynamics in the Diplodocids' the pair ran a series of computer test to see if the tail of the Apatosaurus louisae could reach supersonic velocities. A model of the dinosaur, whose name means 'thunder foot', is pictured at the American Museum of Natural History Bullwhips taper from the handle to the tip of the whip. When the whip is swung, energy is transferred from the handle through the whip to the tapering end. As the mass decreases, the velocity increases which causes the 'cracker' to move at speeds faster than sound. The tails of sauropods had a similar structure (illustrated)

They suggested that the noise produced would have been used for defense, communication, or even during mating, in which the supersonic 'cracking' may have been a sign of strong sexuality. Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford pictured) is well-known for using a bullwhip Their computer simulations also ruled out that the whiplash tail was used as a weapon. However, many palaeontologists were critical of this research including Dr Kenneth Carpenter from the Denver Museum of Natural History. He said at the time: ''To be blunt, the computer simulations are another case of garbage in, garbage out.' He added that such speeds would have been painful and could have potentially damaged the tail. To put their computer simulations to the test, Dr Myhrvold and Dr Currie built a scale model of a Apatosaurus tail and filmed it using high-speed cameras. The tail was designed in a program called Mathematica and was built using aluminium and stainless steel for its structure, and neoprene and teflon to simulate intervertebral tissue. In total, the design building and testing took nine months.

The footage was filmed at 6,000 to 8,000 frames per second using a Phantom high-speed camera and the tail was repeatedly flicked using a mechanism designed to mimic the dinosaur's movement.

Calculations using individual frames from this Phantom camera indicate the tip of the tail was travelling at least 360 metres per second, which exceeds the speed of sound at sea level.

The researchers added that these tails could have weighed around 3,500lbs (1,590kg) meaning the noise would have sounded more like 'cannon fire' than the crack of a bullwhip.

The footage (grab pictured) was filmed at 6,000 to 8,000 frames per second using a Phantom high-speed camera and the tail was repeatedly flicked using a mechanism designed to mimic the dinosaur's movement