Speed of Sound

sound · physics · vibrations · speed

Sound travels in waves. Sound is really just vibrations moving through the air, water, or other materials. These vibrations spread out in waves, kind of like ripples on a pond, but you can't see them.

Temperature matters a lot. On a warm day at 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit), sound zooms through air at about 343 meters per second. But on a freezing day at 0 degrees Celsius (32 Fahrenheit), it slows down to 331 meters per second. Cold air makes sound sluggish!

Light beats sound easily. Sound travels incredibly fast, but light is about a million times faster! That's why you see lightning instantly but have to wait a few seconds to hear the thunder.

Different materials, different speeds. Sound doesn't travel the same speed in everything. It moves through different gases, liquids, and solids at different rates depending on what they're made of.