Settings#
| Unit (sound velocity in the medium) | ||
| Decimals |
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metals#
| Substance | Molecular formula | Sound velocity in the medium [m/s] |
| aluminum (pure) | Al | 6300 |
| brass | - | 4300 |
| cadmium | - | 2800 |
| copper (pure) | Cu | 4700 |
| gold | Au | 3200 |
| iron | Fe | 5900 |
| iron, cast | - | 4600 |
| lead | Pb | 1960 |
| magnesium | Mg | 5800 |
| molybdenum | Mo | 6300 |
| monel | - | 5400 |
| nickel | Ni | 5600 |
| platinum | Pt | 3300 |
| silver | Ag | 3600 |
| steel, carbon | - | 5920 |
| steel, stainless 304 | - | 5800 |
| tin | Sn | 3300 |
| titanium | Ti | 6100 |
| tungsten | W | 5200 |
| uranium | U | 3400 |
| zinc | Zn | 4200 |
liquids#
| Substance | Molecular formula | Sound velocity in the medium [m/s] |
| glycerin | C3H5(OH)3 | 1900 |
| ethanol | C2H5OH | 1160 |
| liquid helium | He | 965 |
| oil, petroleum | - | 1700 |
| mercury | Hg | 1400 |
| water 25°C | H2O | 1480 |
| water, sea | - | 1540 |
alcohols#
| Substance | Molecular formula | Sound velocity in the medium [m/s] |
| ethanol | C2H5OH | 1160 |
other materials#
| Substance | Molecular formula | Sound velocity in the medium [m/s] |
| ice (frozen water, 0°C) | H2O | 4000 |
| glass | - | 5300 |
| organic glass (plexiglass) | - | 1700 |
| quartz glass | - | 5800 |
gases#
| Substance | Molecular formula | Sound velocity in the medium [m/s] |
| hydrogen | H2 | 1290 |
| carbon dioxide | CO2 | 259 |
| dry air (standard conditions, 25°C and 100 kPa) | - | 330 |
| oxygen | O2 | 316 |
oxides#
| Substance | Molecular formula | Sound velocity in the medium [m/s] |
| carbon dioxide | CO2 | 259 |
| aluminium oxide | Al2O3 | 9900 |
plastics#
| Substance | Molecular formula | Sound velocity in the medium [m/s] |
| nylon | - | 2600 |
| polyethylene | - | 1900 |
| rubber, hard | - | 1800 |
| polystyrene | (C8H8)n | 2400 |
| polyurethane | - | 1900 |
| neoprene (polychloroprene) | - | 1600 |
| teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE) | (C2F4)n | 1400 |
wood#
| Substance | Molecular formula | Sound velocity in the medium [m/s] |
| fir wood | - | 4890 |
| pine wood | - | 4760 |
solids#
| Substance | Molecular formula | Sound velocity in the medium [m/s] |
| polystyrene | (C8H8)n | 2400 |
| polyurethane | - | 1900 |
| neoprene (polychloroprene) | - | 1600 |
| teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE) | (C2F4)n | 1400 |
| marble | - | 3810 |
| concrete | - | 3800 |
Some facts#
- The speed of sound is colloquially the speed of movement of an acoustic wave.
- The speed of propagation of acoustic waves varies depending on the medium in which the waves propagate.
- The speed of sound in substances reflects how quickly vibrations are transferred between particles.
- Generally speaking, the speed of sound in a medium depends on its elasticity and inertia:
- The above general expression can be converted to other forms depending on the context:
- for liquids:
where:
- for solids:
where:
- for an ideal gas:
where:
- v - sound velocity in an ideal gas medium,
- - the so-called adiabatic index of a given gas, equal to the ratio of specific heat in the isobaric (under constant pressure) and isochoric (at constant volume) transformations ,
- p - pressure,
- d - density,
- R - gas constant,
- T - temperature absolute,
- M - molar mass.
- v - sound velocity in an ideal gas medium,
- for liquids:
See also#
If you're interested in calculators related to acoustics, check out our other calculators:
- Sound intensity level (dB) - if you want to learn what is decibel and how the sound intensity level is measured,
- Sound velocity in materials - if you want to learn how the type of substance affects the speed of acoustic wave propagation,
- Acoustic impedance of substances - if you want to learn what is acoustic impedance and how it depends on the type of substance,
- Sound wave reflection - if you want to find out how an acoustic wave behaves when it encounters an obstacle in the form of media boundary,
- Mass law: single wall - if you're interested in building acoustics and would like to estimate the acoustic insulation of a single wall,
- Mass law: double wall - if you're interested in building acoustics and would like to estimate the acoustic insulation of a double wall with an air gap between the walls,
- Sound absorption coefficients - if you're interested in acoustic adaptation of room and you would like to learn how different materials absorb the acoustic wave,
- Noise propagation - if you want to learn how sound intensity level changes with distance from the source,
- Sound insulation countours - if you want to learn more about acoustic insulation assessment standards used over the world,
- Sound reduction index (SRI) - if you're searching for acoustic insulation of popular building materials expressed in the coefficient Rw,
- Sound transmission class (STC) - if you're searching for acoustic insulation of popular building materials expressed by the index STC.
Tags and links to this website#
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sound_velocity_table · sound_velocity_in_gases · sound_velocity_in_solids · sound_velocity_in_liquids · sound_velocity_in_metals
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