Eli5: Does all sound travel at exactly the speed of sound? If so why?

484 views

Do quieter sounds travel at the same speed but for less distance?

In: 49

15 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

To a first approximation (if you’re assuming an ideal gas, which is a good approximation for a lot of gasses like air), yes. But that is not totally true- there is also a [frequency dependence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_sound#:~:text=The%20dependence%20on%20frequency%20and,Hz%20it%20is%20relatively%20constant.). It’s generally insignificant, but it is there.

In air, the speed of sound increases by ~0.1 m/s if you change the frequency from 10 Hz to 100 Hz, for instance. A pretty negligible change, compared to the ~333 m/s approximation.

It also depends on what type of sound you’re talking about. In gases like air, there is only one type of sound wave. But in say, solids, sound (vibrations) has 2 types of waves. These can have different speeds.

>Do quieter sounds travel at the same speed but for less distance?

Yep. They dissipate faster, because they have less energy.

You are viewing 1 out of 15 answers, click here to view all answers.