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  • As the density increases,what happens to the velocity of the sound?

    Sindhu Chowdary

    Member

    Updated: Oct 25, 2024
    Views: 1.2K
    We all know that the sound travels faster through solids and then liquids and then through gases.
    As far as i know solids are the medium through which the sound travels fast.

    But in some websites I saw that as the density increases , the velocity of the sound decreases.If this statement is correct , how come the sound travels fastest through solids (since they have higher density) ?
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  • Jeffrey Arulraj

    Member • Jul 2, 2013

    Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_sound" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Speed Of Sound</a>

    From this it is clear that not only sound as compression wave But also in the form of Shear wave travels in Solids

    This makes it easier for sound to travel with higher speed in solids
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  • Sindhu Chowdary

    Member • Jul 2, 2013

    Conqueror
    Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_sound" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Speed Of Sound</a>

    From this it is clear that not only sound as compression wave But also in the form of Shear wave travels in Solids

    This makes it easier for sound to travel with higher speed in solids

    But there is no source in your post 😕
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  • Sindhu Chowdary

    Member • Jul 2, 2013

    I got a doubt.
    Does sound travels in the form of shear waves only in solids , but not in the liquids or gases?

    Also in the source also they mentioned that the lower the density , the higher the velocity of sound as in case of compression waves.
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  • Jeffrey Arulraj

    Member • Jul 2, 2013

    Yeah you are correct

    Shear waves are produced only in solids and not in any other medium That is why we have different speeds in solids and not in Gases and liquids

    True in a particular media like Gas the speed is dependent on the density of air in that region

    But not while comparing Different media like water or solid through which air can travel as well

    Eg:
    Velocity of air for humid air is different from STP condition and can be verified by this #-Link-Snipped-#
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  • Sindhu Chowdary

    Member • Jul 2, 2013

    Now its cleared that though the velocity is inversely proportional to density , due to elasticity the velocity of sound is faster in solids (technically).

    Generally solids have more density and more rigidity than liquids.But in case of water and solid ice , the solid ice is less denser than the water.It doesn't change the fact that sound travels faster through solids.But I want to know the difference in the velocities of sound in both cases.

    I mean are there any differences or special cases between the velocity of solids with higher density and lower density?
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  • Jeffrey Arulraj

    Member • Jul 2, 2013

    The acoustic velocity can alternatively be expressed with Hook's Law as
    c = (E / ρ)1/2

    This eqn holds good for all three media Solid gas and liquid

    E= Bulk modulus

    ρ= Density of the material
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