Speed of sound Definition and 271 Threads

  1. Thom_Silva

    Sound source moving at the speed of sound

    Hi, Suppose that a plane that is traveling at the speed of sound has a loudspeaker attached to it. Along the he trip the loudspeaker releases specific sounds. What does the pilot ear when the first sound is released? And after the second sound is released, does he ear both sounds at the same...
  2. G

    What is the Uncertainty of Human Hearing Frequency?

    what can be the uncertainty of the frequency that humans can hear ? I'm aware that there are many ways,but i tried google-ing to find them but i couldnt. if you could help me it would be great.
  3. F

    Derivation of the speed of sound waves equation

    I'm learning about the speed of sound waves through a medium. The derivation is initiated through Impulse=change in linear momentum (I=Δp), then I=ΣFΔt=(Area×Δpressure×Δt) in the x direction The derivation proceeds by replacing the Δpressure with another equation we had derived earlier...
  4. P

    What is the speed of sound and time period of oscillating particles?

    I have a question to solve - A boy heard a sound of frequency 100 Hz at a distance of 500 m from the source of sound. What is the speed of sound? What is the time period of oscillating particles of the medium? I have approached the below way : We know that speed = distance / time...
  5. A

    What is the speed of sound in a rigid body?

    Homework Statement What will be the speed of sound in a perfectly rigid body? Given : In a hypothetical situation we have a rigid body find the speed of sound when it passes through the material. Elasticity of medium = ∞ Homework Equations velocity = √E/ρ ρ = density E = elasticity of medium...
  6. Sace Ver

    What is the speed of sound in air at atmospherical conditions?

    Homework Statement A student stands 86m from the foot of a cliff, claps her hands, and hears the echo 0.50s later. Calculate speed of sound in air. Known •86m •0.50s Homework Equations V=331.4+0.606T The Attempt at a Solution V=d/t V=86m/0.50s V=172m/s Is that the first step to the problem...
  7. G

    Fastest Terrestrial Sound Conduction Speed

    I stumbled across an interesting subject online http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=449378 Leads me to wonder what the fastest terrestrial sound conduction speed is.
  8. H

    Depth of a well (using speed of sound)

    Homework Statement A stone is dropped from rest into a well. Th sound of the splash is heard exactly 2.00 s later. Find the depth of the well if the air temperature is 10.0 degrees Celsius. Homework Equations How does the speed of sound play a role in this? How can I find the depth? The...
  9. D

    How does a whip break speed of sound?

    I'm trying to understand by what mechanism a whip can multiply the velocity of the initial arm motion until it reaches the speed of sound, how is it doing this?
  10. iForget

    Time Dilation for Slower Objects - Physics Explained

    Good day, I'm a high schooler so my knowledge of physics is futile and still expanding. Please correct me when I'm wrong, I love physics. Now to my question. I'm still a bit fuzzy on this theory of time dilation and the speed of light etc. But if time dilation happens at the speed of light can...
  11. J

    Calculating Speed of Sound in Nickel using Atomic Properties

    Homework Statement From WebAssign: One mole of nickel (6.02e23 atoms) has a mass of 59 g, and its density is 8.9 g/cm3. You have a bar of nickel 2.44 m long, with a square cross section, 1.8 mm on a side. You hang the rod vertically and attach a 45 kg mass to the bottom, and you observe that...
  12. E

    Speed of bowling ball involving speed of sound

    Homework Statement A bowling ball traveling with a constant speed hits the pins at the end of a bowling lane 16.5 m long. The bowler hears the sound of the ball hitting pins 2.5 s after ball is released from his hands. What is the speed of ball, assuming speed of sound is 340 m/s? Homework...
  13. Y

    Need help with physics experiment (Speed of sound)

    < Mentor Note -- thread moved to HH from the technical physics forums, so no HH Template is shown > Last week we had to conduct an experiment with the aim of determining the speed of sound. I decided to play with doppler effect. I was more or less sure what I had to do but then the teacher came...
  14. 8eou8elisi

    Pressure Impulses during Supersonic Flight

    Hey Everyone. I am new to this forum, so first of all greetings to everybody. What are your thoughts on the below idea..? Is it possible to make the pressure impulses created by a Supersonic Aircraft to travel faster than the speed of Sound? I know that the pressure impulses during a Supersonic...
  15. B

    Calculating Distance to a Wall Using Speed of Sound

    Homework Statement The human beings are standing at equal distances from a big and high wall. Distance between them is 150 m. When one fires the gun the other hears two shots in an interval of 2 seconds, using the speed of sound to be 340.298 m/s calculate their distance to the wall. Homework...
  16. S

    What is the speed of sound in oxygen? 21.50mastering physics

    Homework Statement ___ In 1866, the German scientist Adolph Kundt developed a technique for accurately measuring the speed of sound in various gases. A long glass tube, known today as a Kundt's tube, has a vibrating piston at one end and is closed at the other. Very finely ground particles of...
  17. C

    Speed of Sound and its relation to weight?

    Good day (or night). I am new here, so I hope my question doesn't bother many. If (forgetting other laws of nature) a shoebox where to hit the sound barrier and an F-35 were to do the same. Would the sound waves be equal. Would it sound the same to a ground observer? I always assume that mass...
  18. PavanKumar

    Speed of Sound: Constant Irrespective of Source Speed

    Hi, As far as I know the speed of sound is also constant irrespective of the speed of the source. I guess, this is an obvious result of the property of waves. So, why is the constancy of speed of a light wave more important? Please point out if there are any mistakes in my assumptions.
  19. Stephanus

    Speed of Sound in Different Mediums

    Dear PF Forum, Sorry I ask this. I should have googled it or doing the experiment myself. :smile: If a cars runs 50 m/s and at that time fires a missile, the speed of the missile is 100 m/s so the total speed of the missile is 150m/s, is this right? And if we sit at the back seat of an airplane...
  20. M

    Speed of sound and light through different solutions

    If you have the same liquid, water, but with different ions dissociated in it, changing it's colligative properties, does the index of refraction change? And/or does the speed of sound through it change?
  21. S

    How far did the parachutist fall before hitting the water?

    Problem: A swimmer sees a parachutist hit the water and hears the impact twice, once through the water and the second time through the air, 1.0s later. How far from the swimmer did the impact occur. Vs of air is 340m/s. Vs of water is 1400m/s and the answer in the book is 450m. 2. I know this is...
  22. S

    How Can the Speed of Sound Help Determine Room Temperature?

    Homework Statement Calculate the room temperature by using the speed of sound formula and using the given values. Known Data: Frequency = 480 Hz 2nd Resonant length = 54cm or 0.54m Homework Equations v = 331 + (0.60)T T = (v - 331)/0.60 v = fλ (Open-Closed air column) L = (3/4)λ The...
  23. D

    Speed of light vs speed of sound

    Hi all,I originally posted this question as a reply to another post, but afterwards I thought it would be better to start a new thread. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to delete the old post. With that out of the way... In the experiment, we send either light or sound from a source...
  24. P

    Doppler Effect and the speed of sound

    Homework Statement You are moving at a speed of 35m/s and hear a siren coming from behind you and observe the frequency to be 1370 Hz. The siren goes past you and the new frequency heard is 1330 Hz. What is the speed of the siren traveling at? The speed of sound in air is 340m/s. f1=1370 Hz f2=...
  25. Rumo

    Speed of sound in an isentropic ideal gas

    Homework Statement \rho_0, c_0 is the mean density, the mean speed of sound in the ideal gas. Is the following correct? c(\rho)=c_0\left(\frac{\rho}{\rho_0}\right)^{\frac{\kappa-1}{2}} Homework Equations p = const * \rho^\kappa, c=\sqrt{\frac{\partial p}{\partial \rho}} The Attempt at...
  26. Cluemore

    In what ways do high altitudes affect speed of sound?

    This is what I am pondering about: At high altitudes, it makes sense that lower temperatures will correspond with velocity of sound traveling through the air at higher altitudes. With lower temperatures the movement of the gas molecules will slow down, making it more difficult for sound to...
  27. AdityaDev

    Speed of sound in mixture of gases

    I am trying to calculate the speed of sound in a mixture of 2 gases like oxygen an ozone. First step: I calculated ##\gamma_{eff}## of the mixture by first calculate the ##C_V## of mixture by using a formula $$C_V=\frac{n_1C_1 + n_2C_2}{n_1+n_2}$$ Step 2: in the formula $$v=\sqrt{\frac{\gamma...
  28. Ignis Radiis

    Speed of light vs Speed of sound

    okay, so I know that light is faster than sound, and we can prove it with many visuals, but can y'all give examples of speeds through the same medium. For example, I know that the speed of sound is 343 in room at 200 C
  29. 2

    Deriving the doppler shift equation for sound

    I am looking at derivations of the Doppler effect for sound and light, and I am very confused about what stays the same when it comes to sound. In this video, at 5:10, it is said that the wavelength will be the same. I'm not sure I agree with this because I'm pretty sure both the observed...
  30. Z

    Speed of sound in turbulent air?

    If I turn on a standing fan in my room how does the speed of sound change in the fast moving air compared to the still air around it? Would it be relatively faster, slower, or does it depend on the direction in which the fan is blowing?
  31. F

    Determining the speed of sound in air

    Hello! I have a problem with determining speed of sound basing on a data from laboratory. 1. Homework Statement I have to determine speed of sound by measuring the shift of time in microphone compared to speaker. The distance between them is constant and I'm changing the frequency in...
  32. Paulene Gueco

    Speed of Sound in Air as a Function of Temperature

    Hi, guys! :) I do hope I am posting on the right thread here. So anyways, I'm looking into a certain topic: "Speed of Sound in Air as a Function of Temperature". Any thoughts on how I could do this experimentally? Warm regards, Paulene :)
  33. G

    Does the speed of sound depend on the observer's relative motion?

    Hi, I wanted to ask if the speed of a sound wave, given a fixed medium, depends on the speed of the observer. That is to say, does the speed of sound obey to the laws of relative motion, implying addition of relative speeds? In case it doesn't depend on relative motion, can you explain why? I...
  34. H

    How does density affect the speed of sound?

    So the speed of sound is dependent upon two properties: 1) Elasticity of the Medium 2) Density of the Medium. Greater elasticity results in a greater restoring force once the molecules are displaced (similar to a spring) so they return to their original positions sooner meaning they can...
  35. C

    How Does the Doppler Effect Help Determine the Speed of Sound?

    Homework Statement Problem: a car is moving away from a stationary observer at 25ms^-1. It emits a frequency of 810Hz and the observer hears an apparent frequency of 762Hz. What is the speed of sound in air at that time? Homework Equations The equation for a source moving away is f' =...
  36. A

    The Speed of Sound: Changing with Medium

    Hi all. How does the speed of sound change with the medium? That is, how does it change with density, molar mass, temperature and in air, humidity. It seems that denser materials would increase the speed of sound, since the particles are more closely packed and therefore ease vibrations. The...
  37. T

    Height of cliff using energy and speed of sound

    Homework Statement [/B] A stone is dropped from the top of a cliff. The splash it makes when striking the water below is heard 4.0s later. how high is the cliff Homework Equations .5mv^2+mgy = E v = v0 + at v = d/t The Attempt at a Solution The question says after the rock is DROPPED so i...
  38. C

    Resonant Frequency and speed of sound

    1. Hollow tube chimes are made of metal and are open at each end. One chime is 0.54m long. -If the speed of sound is 346m/s, what is the frequency of sound produced by the third resonant length? -What would happen to the frequency of sound produced by the third resonant length if the chime...
  39. R

    What Does an Observer Hear When Traveling at the Speed of Sound?

    Hi everyone, A couple of question I was thinking about regarding sound: 1) A sound source is moving at the speed of sound, and because sound waves cannot move faster, the waves build up at the front (direction of movement). If there is also an observer at the source (traveling at the speed...
  40. GerryB

    C as the speed of light and the speed of sound in Michelson-Morley.

    The symbol, c, represents both the speed of light and the speed of sound in most scientific reference texts. Can the speed of sound be substituted for the speed of light in the Michelson-Morley (MM) formula: T = [L / (c - v)] + [L / (c + v)]? Consider an observer on a train of length, L. It...
  41. paulmdrdo1

    MHB Speed of sound - Uniform motion- linear equation application

    I need help with these problems. 1. Speed of Sound in Air. Two seconds after firing a rifle at a target, the shooter hears the impact of the bullet. Sound travels at 1100 feet per second and the bullet at 1865 feet per second. Determine the distance to the target (to the nearest foot). 2...
  42. Adithyan

    Speed of sound on a moving train

    Homework Statement Two trains A and B are moving with speed 20m/s and 30m/s respectively in the same direction on the same straight track with B ahead of A. The engines are at the front ends. The engine of trains A blows a long whistle. Assume that the speed of sound of whistle is...
  43. Manraj singh

    Speed of sound waves in various media.

    My tenth grade physics textbook says that sound travels faster in solids than air. But it also says sound will travel faster in air if its density decreases. I didn't really get the logic, as solids are denser than air, and that is why sound travels faster. Then they say as temperature of air...
  44. P

    The police car moves faster than the speed of sound? Sonic boom.

    Hi, Suppose the police car moves faster than sound's speed and runs away from the person on the street. Will the person hear the siren? Regards,
  45. P

    The police car moves faster than the speed of sound?

    Hi, Suppose the police car moves faster than sound's speed and runs away from the person on the street. Will the person hear the siren? Regards,
  46. N

    Understanding the Speed of Sound in Fluids: An Explanation from Thermodynamics

    Hi The speed of sound in a fluid is defined as c_s^2 = \frac{\partial P}{\partial \rho} where P is the pressure and ρ the density. In my thermodynamics-course this was how we defined the speed of sound in an ideal gas, I have never read the explanation anywhere for, why this relation is also...
  47. S

    Determine depth of a well using the speed of sound

    Homework Statement If you drop a stone into a deep well and hear a splash 4.68s after dropping the stone, how far down is the water level? Neglect air resistance and assume that the speed of the sound in air is 3.40x10^2 m/s Homework Equations v=d/t d=v1t+1/2at^2 The Attempt at a Solution Here...
  48. G

    Speed of sound wave and particle velocity

    This may be fairly straightforward but it is a concept that I am really having problems understanding. A sound wave is a pressure disturbance that travels through a medium by means of particle to particle interaction, so why is the wave velocity so much faster than the velocity of the particles...
  49. B

    Please help Speed of sound in air/temperature relation

    Homework Statement The density of a sample of air is 1.211 kg/m3, and the bulk modulus is 1.42 · 105 N/m2. a) Find the speed of sound in the air sample. b)Find the temperature of the air sample. Give answer in °C. Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I found...
  50. B

    Rock off cliff - calculate height by using speed of sound

    You are climbing in the High Sierra where you suddenly find yourself at the edge of a fog-shrouded cliff. To find the height of this cliff, you drop a rock from the top and 8.50s later hear the sound of it hitting the ground at the foot of the cliff. Ignoring air resistance, how high is the...
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