A good approximation is that the smallest wavelength possible for a sound wave in a gas is the separation distance between molecules. Find the highest-frequency sound wave possible in an atmosphere in which the wave speed is 403 m/s, the density 1.18 kg/m3, and the average molecular mass is 4.82 10-26 kg. Assume that the molecules form a cubical grid.
assume the air molecules are spherical and that they touch so that the
distance from center of one molecule to the center of another molecule is 2rmolecule
2007-11-28 08:35:19 · 1 answers · asked by thegenuwineone 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
You know the total mass per cubic meter and the mass per molecule so you can compute the number of molecules per cubic meter.
That gives you the volume each molecule occupies and hence, assuming the cubic grid, the distance to the next molecule over.
Wave length and frequency are inversely related, with the constant being the speed of wave propagation, which you are given.
2007-11-30 11:19:19 · answer #1 · answered by simplicitus 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋