what slows it down?
2007-07-29 09:53:23 · 7 answers · asked by hobo 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
It doesn't get "slowed down". It starts out moving that fast. If it's traveling through air at a normal temperature, the speed is always the same.
The speed of sound is the average speed that all the molecules in a gas are traveling at. Sound is simply molecules banging into other molecules, which in turn bang into other molecules. It cannot travel faster than the air molecules themselves, since the gaps between the air molecules must be traversed by the molecules.
However, if you heat up the air, the molecules will be moving faster, and the speed of sound will increase accordingly.
2007-07-29 09:59:38 · answer #1 · answered by lithiumdeuteride 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Sound is like croquet balls, but instead of balls, its molecules. If the molecules are close together then it’s very easy for sound to travel. It slams into one molecule then that molecule slams into the next and there is very little lose in energy. If the molecules are far apart, however, then the molecule has to travel a long distance on its own, so it slows down. That’s why sounds travels much fast underwater than it does in air. Cause water is much denser than air. That’s also why in a vacuum (like in outer space) sound dost travel at all. Cause there is no matter for the sound to travel
2007-07-29 17:07:57 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sound travels as compressional waves (physical waves that vibrate back and forth in the same direction as the wave propagates). Think of lying a slinky flat on a table and pushing one end of it - watch the wave move across.
Why is it slow? Well, "slow" is a relative term. I can't run faster than sound. Can you? That sounds pretty fast to me. But, then you are probably comparing it to the speed of light, against which everything is slow.
The speed of sound is primarily controlled by the density of the medium through which it travels. The denser the material, the faster the sound wave travels.
Speed of sound in air = 344 m/s
Speed of sound in water = 1482 m/s
Speed of sound in steel = 5100 m/s
Speed of sound in rock = 3000 - 12000 m/s (depending on composition and density of the rock)
Temperature does have an effect, but it is minor compared to density.
2007-07-29 18:05:41 · answer #3 · answered by asgspifs 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sound depends on molecules or ions actually moving around and hitting each other, in order to carry the wave. Therefore, sound cannot propagate faster than the average speed of molecules in the gas. This depends on the temperature, and the average mass per particle. The hotter it is, the faster sound travels. If you want really fast sound, use a very hot gas made of lightweight particles.
2007-07-29 17:02:09 · answer #4 · answered by cosmo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
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2014-07-22 01:21:43 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
higher frequencies above what "sound"the ear can hear,travel faster with less loss of energy...
2007-07-29 17:01:07 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
viscosity.
2007-07-29 16:57:30 · answer #7 · answered by vpi61 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋