Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
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.
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.
where is the Laplace operator, is the acoustic pressure (the local deviation from the ambient pressure), and is the speed of sound. A similar looking wave equation but for the vector field particle velocity is given by
An example of a sound velocity probe – the Teledyne Odom Digibar Pro. As the relationship of speed, time and distance are dependent, in order to accurately measure the distance one must also know the time of transmit to receive and the speed of sound in water accurately. There are two methods that this can be achieved.
The speed of sound in any chemical element in the fluid phase has one temperature-dependent value. In the solid phase, different types of sound wave may be propagated, each with its own speed: among these types of wave are longitudinal (as in fluids), transversal, and (along a surface or plate) extensional. [1]
The speed of sound depends on the medium the waves pass through, and is a fundamental property of the material. The first significant effort towards measurement of the speed of sound was made by Isaac Newton. He believed the speed of sound in a particular substance was equal to the square root of the pressure acting on it divided by its density:
With increasing depth, the increasing pressure causes an increase in sound speed, or a positive sound speed gradient. The depth where the sound speed is at a minimum is the sound channel axis. This is a characteristic that can be found in optical guides. If a sound wave propagates away from this horizontal channel, the part of the wave furthest ...