Speed of Sounds in Different Mediums
Mediums are air, water, and steel. Air has a low density causing it to have a smaller mass and the molecules to spread out. It requires less energy to be needed to allow the molecules to vibrate compared to the energy needed to vibrate molecules in steel and water. Water has a medium density and has closer molecules than those in air. Steel has the highest density where the molecules are packed together. More energy is needed due to the larger mass steel is. Even though steel requires more energy, steel transports sound faster, then it is water and last it is air. Steel transports the sound fastest because of the tight packed molecules allowing for the sound to be carried from one side to the other. Water can allow water mammals to communicate but giving the human a muffled sound. Water molecules give sound a little bit to wander since they are not packed so tight together. Air frees sound to go everywhere and doesn't provide a direct location to travel to. Hot air transports sound energy faster than cold temperatures because the molecules in hot air are more energetic causing the molecules to more faster and vibrate easier.
Vair = 331.3 m/s + 0.606 m/s(T degrees celsius)
If you could lay out the spacing in between the molecules for each medium, they would space something like below:
Steel molecules: Water molecules: Air molecules:
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Molecules are close together Molecules are spread apart Molecules are far apart
Vair = 331.3 m/s + 0.606 m/s(T degrees celsius)
If you could lay out the spacing in between the molecules for each medium, they would space something like below:
Steel molecules: Water molecules: Air molecules:
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Molecules are close together Molecules are spread apart Molecules are far apart