As the depth increases, the temperature gets colder and colder until it reaches a nearly constant value. The sound speed at the surface is fast because the temperature is high from the sun warming the upper layers of the ocean. The speed of sound in a gas is a specific fraction of the average speed of the gas molecules at the given temperature. The decrease in sound speed near the surface is due to decreasing temperature. A more complex equation takes into account factors and can be used with other gases. A simple equation can be used to approximate the speed of sound. Air is a mixture of gases and includes water vapor. The speed of sound in a gas is a function of its temperature. The speed of sound for various gases at 0° C: GasĪn interesting characteristic of the speed of sound in a gas is that the speed is a distinct fraction of the average speed or velocity of the molecules or atoms making up the gas.įor example, the speed of sound in air is 0.68 times the speed of the air molecules at a given temperature. The molecular mass is the atomic weight of the molecule divided by 1000. The speed of sound in any gas is a function of temperature, the molecular structure of the gas and its molecular mass. This also shows that as the temperature of air goes up, the speed of sound goes up Speed in any gas The speed of sound in dry air in meters per second (m/s) is approximately equal to: The hotter the medium is, the faster its particles move and therefore the quicker the sound. Sound travels slower at higher altitudes because the temperature and relative humidity are lower, not because the air pressure is lower higher altitudes. The speed of sound also depends on the temperature of the medium. I would like to know how the speed of sound in steel varies with temperature. Pressure not a factorĬounter to intuition, changes in air pressure have no real effect on the speed of sound. This is consistent with the general relationship for sound speed in gases. Since humidity can vary so much, and since the amount of change of speed with an extreme change in humidity is less the 0.5%, the speed of sound in air is usually simply measured in dry air, neglecting the effect of humidity. The speed of sound in helium at 0C is about 972 m/s, compared to 331 m/s in air. Humidity a slight factorĪn increase in the amount of humidity in the air increases the speed only small amount. The only other factor that has any effect on the speed of sound in air is the amount of humidity in the air. This speed is primarily a function of temperature. The speed of sound in air is approximately 343 meters/second, 1130 feet/second or 770 miles per hour at room temperature of 20° C (70° F). The speed of sound is directly influenced by both the medium through which it travels and the factors affecting the medium, primarily temperature and humidity. It also includes varying amounts of water vapor or humidity.
Air is a relatively fixed mixture of gases, primarily consisting of Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon and Carbon Dioxide.
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