Eli5: What does helium being lighter than air have to do with making our voice higher pitched?
In: Physics
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The speed of sound in helium is significantly faster than the speed of sound in air. Speeding up the soundwaves also causes them to have a higher pitch.
Helium is less dense than than air which makes soundwaves travel through it faster which “thins out” the wave making the pitch higher. The opposite effect happens with sulfur hexafluoride which is much denser than air “thickening” the wave which causes lower pitch.
Demonstrative clip: https://youtu.be/52UAEQfMTtU
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