When did Newton discover the speed of sound?

Answer 1

Newton was more into light. Ernst Mach was the sound guy. Mach being the speed of sound.

Answer 2

The first analytical determination of the speed of sound was given by Isaac newton in Proposition 49 of Book II of the Principia. For sea level air at a typical ambient temperature he computed a value of 979 ft/sec, which is too low by about 15%, the true value being about 1116 ft/sec. Read more here: http://www.mathpages.com/home/kmath109/kmath109.htm The air pressure (sea level) has nothing to do with the speed of sound. The temperature is essentially important. Cheers ebs

Answer 3

At Cambridge University there are hallways with ringing echos, that is multiple echos. All Isaac had to do was measure the distant of the hallways, time the duration of the echos, count the number of echos, multiply the distance by the over-all time and divide by the number of echos. voila! speed of sound in air.

Answer 4

i believe they set out an area and had someone time how long a sound would take to get there

Answer 5

298.41 (i think) We had this question for a science test, his figure was 13% too low, but it was accurate considering the measuring equipment at the time. xxx

Answer 6

Yes it is applicable

Answer 7

1922