VELOCITY OF SOUND:

Sound waves, like all waves, have a velocity which is characterized by frequency and
wavelength. This is evident is thunderstorms where lightning is seen before hearing
thunder as well as in fireworks displays where the flash of an explosion is seen well
before you its sound is heard and possibly the pressure wave is felt. Both these cases
imply that sound travels at a finite speed and that it is much slower than light.

In general, the equation for the speed of a mechanical wave in a medium depends on
the square root of the restoring force, or the elastic property, divided by the inertial
property,

𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
𝑣𝑣 = �
𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝

Sound being a mechanical wave follows the above equation. Also, sound follows the
wave equation,

𝜕𝜕 2 𝑦𝑦(𝑥𝑥, 𝑡𝑡) 1 𝜕𝜕 2 𝑦𝑦(𝑥𝑥, 𝑡𝑡)

=
𝜕𝜕𝑥𝑥 2 𝜈𝜈 𝜕𝜕𝑡𝑡 2
Thus for solids, the velocity of sound is given by,

𝑌𝑌
𝑣𝑣 = �
𝜌𝜌

For fluids, the velocity of sound is given by,

𝐵𝐵
𝑣𝑣 = �
𝜌𝜌

For an ideal gas, the velocity of sound is given by,

𝛾𝛾𝑅𝑅T
𝑣𝑣 = �
𝑀𝑀

where T - is the temperature in kelvins

𝑌𝑌 - is the young’s modulus of the solid
𝑅𝑅 - is the molar gas constant
𝑀𝑀 - is the molecular mass of the gas
𝜌𝜌 - is the density of the medium
𝛾𝛾 – is the adiabatic index
 B – is the bulk modulus

In general, the more rigid (or less compressible) the medium, the faster the speed of
sound. This observation is analogous to the fact that the frequency of simple harmonic
motion is directly proportional to the stiffness of the oscillating object as measured by
k, the spring constant.

Also, in general the greater the density of a medium, the slower the speed of sound. This
observation is analogous to the fact that the frequency of a simple harmonic motion is
inversely proportional to m, the mass of the oscillating object.

For example, lets consider two materials; iron and air. Iron is more rigid than air and this
makes sound travel faster through iron than in air. Iron also has a much higher density
than air which would tend to make sound move slower. So, which is it? Does sound
move faster or slower in iron than air? Well, it turns out that the higher stiffness of iron
more than compensates for its higher density such that the speed of sound through iron
is about 14 times faster than it is in air. Therefore the speed of sound increases in the
order, 𝑣𝑣 solids > 𝑣𝑣 liquids > 𝑣𝑣 gases . And this is because the stiffness of the media increases in
a similar order.

Because the speed of sound depends on the density of the material, and the density
depends on the temperature, there is a relationship between the temperature in a given
medium and the speed of sound in the medium. For air at sea level, the speed of sound
is given by,

𝑇𝑇
𝑣𝑣 = 331� 𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠
273

The speed of sound in gases is related to the average speed of particles in the gas is
given by

3𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 𝑇𝑇
𝑣𝑣𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 = �
𝑚𝑚

where 𝑇𝑇 – is the temperature in kelvins.

𝑘𝑘𝐵𝐵 – is Boltzmann’s constant

𝑚𝑚 – is the mass of the particle.

Note that v refers to the speed of the coherent propagation of a disturbance (the wave),
whereas describes the speeds of particles in random directions. Thus, it is reasonable
that the speed of sound in air and other gases should depend on the square root of
temperature. While not negligible, this is not a strong dependence. At 00C, the speed of
sound is 331 m/s, whereas at 20.00C, it is 343 m/s, less than a 4% increase.

Derivation of the Speed of Sound in Air

Consider fluid flow through a pipe with cross-sectional area A and length x. The mass of
the fluid is given by,

𝑚𝑚 = 𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌 = 𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌

The mass flow rate is given as,

𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑(𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌) 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

= = 𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Now consider a sound wave moving through an air parcel of dimensions dx, dy, dy and
moving in the x-direction.

The density, temperature, and velocity of fluid flowing in are given as ρ, T, v and for fluid
flowing out are given as 𝜌𝜌 + 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑, 𝑇𝑇 + 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑, and 𝑣𝑣 + 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

From the equation of continuity, the inward mass flow rate is equal to the outward mass
flow rate:

𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌 = (𝜌𝜌 + 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑)(𝑣𝑣 + 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑)𝐴𝐴

𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌 = 𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌 + 𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌 + 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 + 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

0 = 𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌 + 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 (𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 ≈ 0)

𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌 = −𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣

The net force on the volume of the air parcel equal to the sum of the forces on the left
and those on the right

𝐹𝐹𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 = 𝑃𝑃(𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑) − (𝑃𝑃 + 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑)(𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑)

= 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 − 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 − 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = −𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑎𝑎 = −
𝑚𝑚
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
= −
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
= −
𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = −
𝜌𝜌 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1
= −
𝜌𝜌 𝑣𝑣
𝜌𝜌𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 = −𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝜌𝜌𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = −𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝜌𝜌
𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣(−𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝜌𝜌) = −𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑃𝑃
𝜈𝜈 2 =
𝑑𝑑𝜌𝜌
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑣𝑣 = �
𝑑𝑑𝜌𝜌

Now the propagation of sound is and adiabatic process where,

𝑃𝑃𝑉𝑉 𝛾𝛾 = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
𝑚𝑚
𝑏𝑏𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢, 𝑉𝑉 =
𝜌𝜌
𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
=
𝜌𝜌
𝛾𝛾
𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢, 𝑃𝑃 � � = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
𝑇𝑇
But 𝑛𝑛 and 𝑀𝑀 are also constants and can therefore be absorbed into the constant on the
R.H.S. Thus we have,

1 𝛾𝛾
𝑃𝑃 � � = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
𝑇𝑇
Taking natural logarithms on both sides,

𝑙𝑙𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 + 𝑙𝑙𝑛𝑛𝜌𝜌−𝛾𝛾 = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑛𝑛𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

𝑙𝑙𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 − 𝛾𝛾𝑙𝑙𝑛𝑛𝜌𝜌 = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑
(𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 − 𝛾𝛾𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝜌𝜌) = (𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐)
𝑑𝑑𝜌𝜌 𝑑𝑑𝜌𝜌
1 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝛾𝛾
− =0
𝑃𝑃 𝑑𝑑𝜌𝜌 𝜌𝜌
 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝛾𝛾𝑃𝑃
=
𝑑𝑑𝜌𝜌 𝜌𝜌
𝑚𝑚
𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏, 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 = 𝑛𝑛𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 = 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅
𝑀𝑀
𝑚𝑚 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅
𝑃𝑃 = = 𝜌𝜌
𝑉𝑉 𝑀𝑀 𝑀𝑀
𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝛾𝛾 �𝜌𝜌 �
𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢, = 𝑀𝑀
𝑑𝑑𝜌𝜌 𝜌𝜌
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝛾𝛾𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅
=
𝑑𝑑𝜌𝜌 𝑀𝑀
𝛾𝛾𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅
𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒, 𝑣𝑣 = �
𝑀𝑀

For air, 𝛾𝛾 = 1.4, M=0.02897kg/mol and if the temperature is TC = 200C =293K, The
𝛾𝛾𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅
velocity, 𝑣𝑣 = 343𝑚𝑚𝑠𝑠 −1 . The equation, 𝑣𝑣 = � can be used to �ind the speed of sound
𝑀𝑀

in air as afunction of temperature;

𝛾𝛾𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅
𝑣𝑣 = �
𝑀𝑀

𝛾𝛾𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 273
=� � �
𝑀𝑀 273

273𝛾𝛾𝑅𝑅 𝑇𝑇
=� �
𝑀𝑀 273

273 × 1.4 × 8.314 𝑇𝑇 𝑇𝑇

𝑣𝑣 = � � ≈ 331�
𝑀𝑀 273 273

One of the more important properties of sound is that its speed is nearly independent of
the frequency. This independence is certainly true in open air for sounds in the audible
range. If this independence were not true, you would certainly notice it for music played
by a marching band in a football stadium, for example. Suppose that high-frequency
sounds travelled faster—then the farther you were from the band, the more the sound
from the low-pitch instruments would lag that from the high-pitch ones. But the music
from all instruments arrives in cadence independent of distance, so all frequencies
must travel at nearly the same speed. Recall that, 𝑣𝑣 = 𝑓𝑓𝜆𝜆. In a given medium under fixed
conditions, 𝑣𝑣 is constant, so there is a relationship between and ; the higher the
frequency, the smaller the wavelength
Experiments for the measurement of velocity of sound

Experiment 1:

• Measure out a distance of 100 metres

• Have one person with a starter pistol at one end of the measured distance.
• At the other end of the measured distance, another person measure the time
between seeing the smoke from the pistol and hearing the sound
• We can assume that the light from the pistol gets to the time immediately as the
speed of light is much faster than that of sound.
• The speed of sound is then calculated as,
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 100
𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = = = 333.3𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 0.3
Experiment 2:

• A sound is made by hitting a metal block or plate with a hammer.

• When the control unit receives a pulse of sound from microphone A, it start the
clock.
• When it receives a pulse from microphone B, it stops it.
• If B is 1.0m further away from the source of sound than A, and the clock records
a time of 0.003s
• The speed of sound is calculated as,
1
𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = = 333.3𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠
0.003

SOUND AT AN INTERFACE
Refraction:

Refraction of sound refers to the bending of sound waves owing to changes in the speed
of the waves. Refraction of sound waves is analogous to refraction of light and can be
described using Snell’s law. When sound waves travel from a medium in which they are
faster to a medium in which they are slower, they bend towards the normal and their
wave length decreases. The reverse occurs for sound moving from a medium in which it
is slower to a medium in which it is faster.

An important case of refraction is caused by the natural temperature gradient of

the atmosphere where the atmospheric temperature decreases with elevation. Because
sound waves travel faster in warm air they tend to refract upward and become “lost.”
The sound of thunder created by lightning may be refracted upward so strongly that a
shadow region is created in which the lightning can be seen but the thunder cannot
be heard. This typically occurs at a horizontal distance of about 22.5 kilometres (14
miles) from a lightning bolt about 4 kilometres high.

Another case of refraction is caused by the temperature inversion that occurs at night,
where the temperature of the air increases with elevation, and sound waves are
refracted back down to the ground. This is the reason why sounds can be heard much
more clearly over longer distances at night than during the day—an effect
often incorrectly attributed to the psychological result of nighttime quiet.

Another case of refraction occurs in the ocean. Under normal circumstances the
temperature of the ocean decreases with depth, resulting in the downward refraction of
a sound wave originating under water—just the opposite of the shadow effect in air
described above. Many marine biologists believe that this refraction enhances the
propagation of sounds of marine mammals such as dolphins and whales, allowing
them to communicate with one another over enormous distances. For ships such as
submarines located near the surface of the water, this refraction creates shadow
regions, limiting their ability to locate distant vessels.

Reflection:

Reflection of sound refers to the bouncing back of sound waves when they hit a hard
surface e.g. concrete, glass, rock etc. The reflection of sound in the reason for the
perception of echoes and reverberation.

If a reflected sound reaches the human ear in less than 0.1s, it’s indistinguishable from
the original sound. Assuming the speed of sound is 34m/s, then the distance travelled
by sound in 0.1s is 340𝑚𝑚𝑠𝑠 −1 × 0.1𝑠𝑠 = 34𝑚𝑚 . Thus echoes can only be heard for sounds
reflected from objects that are at least 34m away.

In large empty rooms with hard walls, sound undergoes multiple reflections and sound
waves last a little longer within the room – this phenomenon is referred to as
reverberation and it usually makes sounds unclear and unintelligible. Reverberation and
echoes in rooms like classrooms, conference hall, theatres etc. can be reduced by
applying soft porous materials to the walls of the rooms.

Reflection of sound is analogous to that of light and sound reflectors of appropriate

shape are used for a variety of purposes or effects just like its with light. For example,
a parabolic reflector will focus a parallel wave of sound onto a specific point, allowing a
very weak sound to be more easily heard. Such reflectors are used in parabolic
microphones to collect sound from a distant source or to choose a location from which
sound is to be observed and then focus it onto a microphone.

ABSORPTION:

Absorption of sound is the reduction in intensity of sound. In addition to the geometric

1
decrease in intensity caused by the inverse square law (𝐼𝐼 = ), a small part of a
𝑟𝑟 2
sound wave is lost to the air or other medium in various ways. One important way is the
direct conduction of the vibration into the medium as heat, caused by the conversion of
the coherent molecular motion of the sound wave into incoherent molecular motion in
the air or other absorptive material. Another way in which it is lost is through viscosity of
a fluid medium. These two ways combine to produce the classical attenuation of a
sound wave. This type of attenuation is proportional to the square of the frequency of
the sound waves. For this reason, absorption increases with frequency and it becomes
very difficult for ultrasonic waves to penetrate a dense medium. This is a persistent
limitation on the development of high-frequency ultrasonic applications. Absorption is
therefore rather small for audible frequencies and it can become extremely large for
high-frequency ultrasonic waves.

Because less sound is absorbed in solids and liquids than in gases, sounds
can propagate over much greater distances in these mediums. This allows certain sea
mammals to communicate over great distances in water.

TRANSMISSION:

Sound transmission refers to the transfer of sound energy from one point in a medium to
another. Sound being a mechanical wave requires a material medium for transmission.
Sound in air and most fluids is transmitted as longitudinal waves, because fluids have
almost no shear strength. For example, as a speaker oscillates back forth, it transfers
energy to the air, mostly as thermal energy. But a small part of the speaker’s energy goes
into compressing and expanding the surrounding air, creating slightly higher and lower
local pressures. These compressions (high-pressure regions) and rarefactions (low-
pressure regions) move out as longitudinal pressure waves having the same frequency
as the speaker—they are the disturbance that is a sound wave. In solids, sound waves
can be both transverse and longitudinal.