Everyone should know what speed of sound
If you have never thought about whylightning faster than thunder, it's time to learn about the meaning of the speed of sound. The point is that this parameter is not constant, since it depends on propagation conditions. However, it's not so difficult to find out what speed of sound is.
Everyone knows that we hear air fluctuations. The latter means a mixture of substances in which oxygen predominates. There are special tables that indicate the values of the sought values. For example, the answer to the question "what speed of sound in the air" is almost always the same. This value varies between 320 plus or minus 5 meters per second. In gases, oscillations propagate more slowly than in solids and liquids. This is due solely to the distance between neighboring elements. It is clear that the molecules that form the volatile matter are located at relatively large distances between themselves. In order to convey the fluctuations, it is necessary to come into contact with some quantity of matter per one cubic meter. The greater the density of the body, the less amount of energy is needed to transfer information from one particle to another. Now you understand that the answer to the question of what speed of sound lies not on the surface.
The fastest supplier of air signalsis carbon. Eighteen kilometers per second can fluctuate in this environment. However, it is still slower than the propagation of light. That's why thunder is heard after the lightning. By the way, why do you need to know what speed of sound? For example, in cloudy weather, you see a characteristic flash of light. To calculate how far lightning struck, it is sufficient to calculate the time after the flare. The conditional length of the path to your ears can be calculated by the formula l = 300 * t, where l is the distance. But it is worth understanding that, firstly, the sound comes from the clouds. Therefore, conditionally speaking, the waves reach the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle. Secondly, in such cases in strong winds, both interference and auxiliary conditions for the propagation of oscillatory processes can arise. That is why the above formula is very general, but relatively useful for fans of any calculations.
No less interesting is the question of whichspeed of sound in water? As already dismantled, it is higher than in some gases. In the ordinary salt sea, this value reaches a value of 1500 m / s. If we take a distilled product that has a lower density, we get a smaller value. By the speed of sound in water, you can determine the distance to the approaching ship. During the war, submarines were guided by various sound fluctuations in the marine environment. Sailors knew how to calculate, for example, the depth of immersion and other parameters.
So, you got the answer to the question, which onesound speed. In the most ordinary life this value reaches about 300 m / s. But in scientific activity, for example physical chemistry, when inventing different instruments, to increase their internal sound velocity, use different gases. That is why knowledge of this parameter is useful not only for solving school problems, but also for more important matters.
