Why does sound travels faster in solids

Question Why does sound travel faster in solids than in liquids, and faster in liquids than in gases air? Asked by: Will K Answer Sound is nothing more than a local disturbance whose propagation is facilitated by the collisions between particles; this disturbance propagates in a logitudnal wave; imagine one molecule hitting the next molecule, and then that molecule hitting the next, and so forth.

The distances between molecules in solids are very small, i. Because they are so close, than can collide very quickly, i. Solids are packed together tighter than liquids and gases, hence sound travels fastest in solids.

The distances in liquids are shorter than in gases, but longer than in solids. Liquids are more dense than gases, but less dense than solids, so sound travels 2nd fast in liquids.

Gases are the slowest because they are the least dense: the molecules in gases are very far apart, compared with solids and liquids. Answered by: Jonathan Apple If one solves the wave equation for the propagation of sound, one finds that the square of the sound velocity is proportional to the ratio of an elastic modulus to the mass density of the material.

Therefore, by a simple density argument, one should conclude that the sound velocity is higher in gases than in solids and liquids which, of course, is not true. The reason why the sound velocity is usually larger in solids than in liquids and usually larger in liquids than in gases is because of the elastics constants of the material.

What determines the elastic constants of a material is the interatomic bond strength. The stronger the bond, the higher the elastic constants. In gases, the atoms are very weakly bonded together and the elastic constants are very low. Unfortunately children will not always accept that the light and sound are from the same instantaneous release of energy.

It is, however, possible to watch a sound being made at some distance away and to detect a slight delay in hearing the sound. Exploding fireworks, the click of a ball on a cricket bat and a child bashing a dustbin lid at the other end of a playing field will all provide this opportunity.

Sound travels in solids and liquids too. Sound waves travel faster and more effectively in liquids than in air and travel even more effectively in solids. This concept is particularly hard to believe since our general experiences lead us to hear reduced or garbled sounds in water or behind a solid door. There are reasons for this. Most of our everyday experiences are when a sound travels first through air and then through water or a solid. When the sound wave transfers from air into a solid some of it is reflected back into the air and some may be absorbed by the new medium.

The noise coming from a room will be reduced if an observer outside closes the door. Sound from within the room will travel to the closed door and start it vibrating. The vibrating door will set the air on the outside vibrating too and a little of the original sound will be transmitted to the observer. However, some of the sound arriving at the door will have been reflected back into the room actually making the noise inside the room louder!