2007-09-29 06:40:59 · 7 answers · asked by Maxy_Paxy 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
^_^ looking for a number here...
2007-09-29 06:45:13 · update #1
the speed of light is 3*10^8m/s in air. The speed of sound depends on the medium 334m/s in air , 4 times more in water
we compare in air 3*10^8/335 =9*10^5
so say 900000 times faster for light compared to sound in air
2007-09-29 06:46:29 · answer #1 · answered by maussy 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
This is a good and interesting question that is rooted in everyday experience. Indeed, it appears that sound and light arrive simultaneously when we attend a play in a theater or watch a movie. The reason is that we are very close to the stage or screen and loudspeaker. This may already be different during a concert in a stadium: For somebody in the distant rows the sound of the band and its movement is out of synch. The speed of sounds is approx. 300 m/s (1000 ft/s), while the speed of light is 300,000 km/s (approx.190,000 miles/s). Therefore, the sound arrives about 1/3 of a second after the corresponding movement, i.e. starts to be recognizable. In a theater the time difference is too short to be recognized.
The most striking experience of the different speed of light and sound is during a thunderstorm. Unless the thunderstorm is exactly upon us, a silent lightning is followed by a substantially delayed thunder. Yet both originate the same place and time. In fact, one can estimate the distance of the thunderstorm from the difference by counting .twenty-one, twenty-two, etc.. starting with the lightning. Saying each number takes about one second. The distance of the thunderstorm in miles is the number of seconds counted dived by five. Thus a thunderstorm is a great time to find out without instrumentation that sound is indeed much slower than light.
Dr. Eberhard Moebius
(November 2003)
2007-09-29 06:45:05 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hello Maxy_Paxy,
Speed of Sound----1100 miles per hour
Speed of Light---186,000 miles per second
There really IS a lot of difference, OK??
2007-09-29 06:48:13 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your answer is way off
Light travels 186,000miles per second or 186000x5280=982,08,000 feet/sec
Speed of sound in air at 20 degree C
is 1100 feet /Sec
Light travels 892,800 times faster than sound in air.(Correct Answer)
2014-04-10 13:32:04 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
186,000 miles per second vs. 1000 meters per hour depending what medium it goes thru. Like 900 million times faster. Give or take.
2007-09-29 06:47:27 · answer #5 · answered by omnisource 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
a lot faster
2007-09-29 06:43:27 · answer #6 · answered by beboo 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Not even one million times. How did you come up with 900 million ?
2014-04-27 23:32:57 · answer #7 · answered by Jolly 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋