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The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elastic medium. More simply, the speed of sound is how fast vibrations travel. At 20 °C (68 °F), the speed of sound in air, is about 343 m/s (1,125 ft/s; 1,235 km/h; 767 mph; 667 kn), or 1 km in 2.91 s or one mile in 4.69 s.
From the speed of sound, the temperature of the air in the planetary boundary layer can be computed. [2] The maximum altitude range of RASS systems is typically 750 metres (2,460 ft), although observations have been reported up to 1.2 km (3,900 ft) in moist air.
A sound speed gradient leads to refraction of sound wavefronts in the direction of lower sound speed, causing the sound rays to follow a curved path. The radius of curvature of the sound path is inversely proportional to the gradient. [2] When the sun warms the Earth's surface, there is a negative temperature gradient in atmosphere.
Figure 1. Table 1's data in graphical format. Although given as a function of depth [note 1], the speed of sound in the ocean does not depend solely on depth.Rather, for a given depth, the speed of sound depends on the temperature at that depth, the depth itself, and the salinity at that depth, in that order.
At a certain altitude (roughly 160 kilometers (99 mi)) even the lowest frequency tone that can be heard by a human being (around 20 Hz) no longer can be transmitted. With increasing height, the atmosphere becomes more rarefied, which increases the mean time between collisions of molecules (also known as mean free time ).
An acoustic wave is a mechanical wave that transmits energy through the movements of atoms and molecules. Acoustic waves transmit through fluids in a longitudinal manner (movement of particles are parallel to the direction of propagation of the wave); in contrast to electromagnetic waves that transmit in transverse manner (movement of particles at a right angle to the direction of propagation ...
Comparison of the 1962 US Standard Atmosphere graph of geometric altitude against air density, pressure, the speed of sound and temperature with approximate altitudes of various objects. [ 1 ] The U.S. Standard Atmosphere is a static atmospheric model of how the pressure , temperature , density , and viscosity of the Earth's atmosphere change ...
Therefore, for a boom to reach the ground, the aircraft's speed relative to the ground must be greater than the speed of sound at the ground. For example, the speed of sound at 30,000 feet (9,100 m) is about 670 miles per hour (1,080 km/h), but an aircraft must travel at least 750 miles per hour (1,210 km/h) (Mach 1.12) for a boom to be heard ...