Speed of sound

The speed of sound is  per hour or  per second in dry air in room temperature.  It travels at 1500 meters per second through water.  Sound moves faster through liquids and solids than air, since they have a larger specific modulus, meaning they are stiffer. Sound cannot travel through a vacuum, which is a space without any air or matter.  The speed of sound is affected by temperature. It travels slower at low temperatures, for example in the stratosphere.

You can calculate the speed of sound like this:

Where:

  is the ratio of specific heats (1.4 for air)
 R is the gas constant ( for air)
 T is temperature (in Kelvins)

The speed of sound is also known as Mach 1. Things that go faster are supersonic, and things that go five times that speed (Mach 5) are hypersonic.

 thumb | right | An aircraft meeting supersonic speed, “breaking the sound barrier” (U.S. Navy FA-18, July 1999)
 Other websites 
 Calculate the speed of sound in air and the temperature
 Speed of sound - temperature matters, not air pressure

Category:Sound