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The speed of sound is how quickly a small disturbance travels through a material such as air, water, or steel. It is not the speed at which the material itself moves, and it is not a single fixed number: the value depends on the medium and its conditions. Sound needs a material medium to travel, so it does not propagate through a vacuum.
What does “speed of sound” mean?
Sound is a mechanical disturbance that travels through a medium. NASA Glenn Research Center defines it as “the speed of transmission of a small disturbance through a medium” (NASA Glenn Research Center, “Speed of Sound”). For example, a sound wave can travel through air without the air as a whole moving along with the wave at the same speed.
What determines the speed of sound?
The medium’s physical properties determine how quickly a disturbance can pass from one part of it to another. The material matters, as do conditions such as temperature and, for fluids, the thermodynamic state. NASA notes that sound speed in air depends on the gas and its temperature; NIST describes sound speed in a fluid as a property that can be derived at a given state from the fluid’s thermodynamic surface.
In an ideal gas
For an ideal gas, the speed is given by a = √(γRT), where γ is the ratio of specific heats, R is the gas-specific constant, and T is absolute temperature in kelvins or rankine. For the same gas, this model means sound speed increases with the square root of absolute temperature. Do not substitute a Celsius temperature directly for T.
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In liquids and solids
In liquids and solids, sound speed depends on the material’s elastic response and density, as well as its conditions. That is why a value for water or steel cannot be treated as universal for every sample or state.
How fast does sound travel in air, water, and steel?
The following figures are NASA educational-table values for the stated temperature, not universal constants:
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| Medium | Temperature | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Air | 21°C (70°F) | 331 m/s (740 mph) |
| Sea water | 21°C (70°F) | 1,524 m/s (3,414 mph) |
| Solid steel | 21°C (70°F) | 5,180 m/s (11,600 mph) |
These examples show how strongly the medium affects propagation speed. Air also illustrates why a temperature must accompany the figure: NASA’s separate normal-atmosphere table gives 340 m/s at sea level and 15°C (59°F), 295 m/s at 11,000–20,000 m and −57°C (−70°F), and 301 m/s at 29,000 m and −48°C (−53°F). Those are values for NASA’s tabulated atmospheric examples, not guaranteed speeds at those altitudes under every atmospheric condition.
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No. Frequency describes how many wave cycles pass a point each second, and it is closely related to perceived pitch. Wavelength is the distance between successive matching points on a wave. Their relationship to propagation speed is v = fλ: speed equals frequency multiplied by wavelength. Frequency and wavelength can change while the wave speed is set by the medium and its conditions.
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