the speed of light or the speed of sound???
2006-08-11 11:45:20 · 14 answers · asked by 000000000000 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
please don't shame me because I asked a question about a subject I want to know about............
2006-08-11 12:12:32 · update #1
Don't let those smarty pants put you down.
The speed of light is a universal constant representing the maximum speed that any matter can travel. Speed of sound is the speed that a wave moves thru a medium such gas, liquid, or solid. Light moving through any medium other than a vacuum will move slower than this maximum speed. Instead of always saying speed of light in vacuum all the time, we simply refer to this speed as c. Then we can say that the speed of light is less than or equal to c.
So the question then is : what is the difference between the speed of light and sound in different mediums?
Typically on earth under typical circumstances the speed of light is much greater than the speed of sound. In fact in a vacuum the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second (c) and speed of sound is zero (there is nothing to propagate a wave thru).
BUT - in a different medium the circumstances can change even to the point that the speed of sound is greater than the speed of light!!!
For example - at the center of a neutron star [1] - the density and pressure is almost infinite. The speed of sound likewise increases until it becomes the speed of light in a vacuum or c. This center can become no denser or otherwise sound would move faster than c - something that cannot happen physically. So there is one place where the speed of sound is c - or very nearly so (it is hard to get to the center of a neutron star to make the actual measurement).
Back on earth - refraction - which is what makes lens do their thing - "blends" light due to the difference of the speed of light between two mediums - the lens and air. There are extremely high refracting substances where the speed of light is slower than the speed of sound in the same medium. In fact the speed of light can become zero, zip, nada, stopped!!!![2]
Not what you find in your typical everyday world but then maybe not your typical question. Hope this helps - keep the questions coming and find out the truth for yourself.
2006-08-11 14:16:14 · answer #1 · answered by Timothy K 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Following the same line of argument as Oblique Shock, (i.e. are there things you might know already that would indicate the answer to you?) ...
Perhaps you know that you cannot go faster than the speed of light or even travel at the speed of light?
Perhaps you have heard people use the expression "breaking the sound barrier" which aeroplanes can do and make a loud bang as they do so? The speed of sound can be exceeded, in other words and "supersonic" means travelling faster than the speed of sound (known as Mach 1) Concorde's transatlantic flights do this, for example.
Put these two thoughts together, If you can travel faster than sound but can't travel as fast as light, it must mean that light travels faster than sound i,e, you can deduce that from the information in the two paragraphs above, Without knowing any of the numbers involved
Penny, please continue to ask what you want to know and don't let put-downs put you off, Science only advances when people ask the right questions and so does your scientific understanding and everybody else's, Curiosity is the drivlng force behind both acquiring knowledge and extending knowledge. Where would we be without it?
Using stone tools and still living in caves!
2006-08-11 12:47:38 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Well now that the big brains have added shadows to their thoughts because they cannot answer a simple question:
The speed of light is 186,282.3959 mps (within a yard or so, while sound travels 1100feet per second or 750 mph. So light is faster and you have the figures, and there is no such thing as a bad question. What do these think when they are asked "What time is it?"
2006-08-11 15:15:14 · answer #3 · answered by orion_1812@yahoo.com 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
light, planes have mached the speed of sound, often resulting in a sonicboom. This speed is called Mach. Speed of light is, for right now, imposible to got at. Did you know that light could travel around the world twice in, I think, two seconds. The only reason it doesn't is because of the obsticles.
2006-08-11 16:12:08 · answer #4 · answered by Uchihaitachi345 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The speed of light is faster, I don't have exact numbers but light is faster than sound.
2006-08-11 11:54:43 · answer #5 · answered by Tom Sawyer 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Light is way, way faster than sound. This explains why you can see something happen at a great distance, but you don't hear it for a second or two.
2006-08-11 14:24:05 · answer #6 · answered by eggman 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Photons, lights carrier particle, is fastest known particle at around 300 million meters per second. The speed of sound varies depending upon the medium and the temperature but never comes close to the speed of light.
2006-08-11 11:53:17 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The speed of light. It travels through a vacuum at 186,000 miles per second. Nothing travels faster except in science fiction. Sound is very, very, very slow in comparison. Our planes can travel faster. mach 1 = the speed of sound, and can cause a sonic boom as a result.
2006-08-11 13:21:00 · answer #8 · answered by Freeway 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Light is easily much faster than the speed of sound.
SPEED of SOUND (at sea level) -- 761 miles per hour
SPEED of LIGHT (in a vacuum) -- 670,616,629.4 miles per hour
2006-08-11 12:41:56 · answer #9 · answered by Chug-a-Lug 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
In all due respect, next time just stop and think.
During a lightning storm, when you see a flash of lightning, it is only after you see it that you hear a clap of thunder.
If you ever watch a baseball game from deep in the outfield, you will see the batter swing before you hear the crack of the bat. Therefore the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound.
2006-08-11 12:02:58 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 4⤋