Table of Contents
Why is the speed of sound faster in a solid than in a gas?
Sound travels more quickly through solids than through liquids and gases because the molecules of a solid are closer together and, therefore, can transmit the vibrations (energy) faster. Sound travels most slowly through gases because the molecules of a gas are farthest apart.
Does sound travel faster in hydrogen or helium?
Speed of Sound in Various Gases
| Gas | Speed of Sound (m/s) |
|---|---|
| Helium | 1007 |
| Krypton | 221 |
| Xenon | 178 |
| Hydrogen | 1270 |
Would the speed of sound in a monatomic gas like helium be the same as it would be in air?
Sound propagates faster in low molecular weight gases such as helium than it does in heavier gases such as xenon. For monatomic gases, the speed of sound is about 75\% of the mean speed that the atoms move in that gas.
What is the speed of sound in helium gas?
1007 m/s
The speed of sound in helium is 1007 m/s at room temperature, so we would expect the frequency to shift by a factor of 1007/343 = 2.93.
Why does the speed of sound travel faster in solid?
Sound travels fastest through solids. This is because molecules in a solid medium are much closer together than those in a liquid or gas, allowing sound waves to travel more quickly through it. In fact, sound waves travel over 17 times faster through steel than through air.
How does speed of sound depend on elasticity?
The speed of the sound depends on the density and the elasticity of the medium through which it travels. In general, sound travels faster in liquids than in gases and quicker in solids than in liquids. The greater the elasticity and the lower the density, the faster sound travels in a medium.
Why does voice get higher with helium?
That’s because helium is so much lighter than air. When sound waves speed up but their frequency stays the same, each wave stretches out. It’s a gas that is much heavier than air, so when it is inhaled, it shortens sound waves so the lower tones in the voice are amplified and the higher ones fade out.
Why sound travels faster hydrogen or oxygen?
As oxygen (air) and hydrogen have nearly the same elastic properties but the density of hydrogen is smaller than that of oxygen. Therefore, sound travels faster (approximate 4 times) in hydrogen than in oxygen.
How do you find the speed of sound in helium?
For the specific example of dry air at 20°C, the speed of sound in air is 343 m/s, while the rms speed of air molecules is 502 m/s using a mean mass of air molecules of 29 amu. vsound in helium = m/s = ft/s = mi/hr.
What would happen to the speed of sound if the tube was filled with helium?
Those wavelengths will have associated frequencies given by f = v/λ. The speed of sound is determined by the gas that is filling the resonant cavities. If the person has inhaled helium, then the speed of sound will be much higher than normal, since the speed of sound waves in helium is about 3 times that in air.
Do sound waves travel faster in helium or carbon dioxide?
Sound travels faster in helium than it does in ordinary air. On a tangent to this, natural changes in the composition of air as it is exhaled, due to increased carbon dioxide (lower sound speed than oxygen and nitrogen) and reduced oxygen, should result in a perceptable downward shift in frequency.
Why does sound travel faster in water than air?
Sound waves travel faster in denser substances because neighboring particles will more easily bump into one another. Take water, for example. There are about 800 times more particles in a bottle of water than there are in the same bottle filled with air. Thus sound waves travel much faster in water than they do in air.