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Sound travels faster in a denser medium, so sound travels most rapidly in steel. However, since sound is a longitudinal wave it is medium dependent, meaning that a medium must be present. Since a vacuum is basically defined as a lack of medium, sound will not travel at all ('No one will hear you scream in space'). This is different from light which travels slowest in solids and fastest in air or vaccuum.

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15y ago
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12y ago

Sound needs always a medium for transportation. Therefore in a vacuum in outer space we cannot hear a sound, like they play us in Science Fiction films.

The speed of sound depends on the medium in which it is transported.

The speed of sound is slow in gases, like in air.

The speed of sound is faster in liquids, like in water.

The speed of sound is fastest in solids, like in metal.

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12y ago

SOLID

The speed of sound will depend on the stiffness and density of the medium, and will be faster in a low density material with a high stiffness.

c = sqrt( K / p )

c = speed, K = bulk modulus (stiffness), and p = density

Solids are generally the stiffest and least dense materials, but some solids may have slower sound speeds than some liquids. For example, the speed of sound in lead (soft and dense) is lower than the speed of sound in water (softer, but much less dense).

On the surface of Earth, the fastest medium is diamond, which has a very high stiffness and a low density.

The material with the absolute fastest sound velocity is metallic hydrogen, which has a stiffness roughly equal to diamond, but has about 1/4th the density of diamond. Of course, metallic hydrogen could only be found in places with extreme pressures, such as the surface of gas giant planets or the center of the Sun.

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15y ago

The speed of sound in steel is faster than the speed of sound in air , water , and vacuum.

Sound is a vibration that travels through an elastic medium as a wave.

The speed of sound in a material depends on the elasticity of the material .

Elasticity is the ability of a material to change shape in response to an applied force, and then resume its initial shape once the distorting force is removed.

In elastic materials , the atoms are relatively close together and respond quickly to each other's motions , transmitting energy with little loss.

Steel is very elastic. If there is no medium-as in a vacuum- there will not be sound transmission. Note: as temperature increases, the speed of sound also increases. Medium------------------------------------------------------Speed of Sound Air (sea level standard conditions) -----------------> 340 m/s, or 343 m/s

Water (fresh water) -----------------------------------> 1435 m/s, or 1433 m/s

Steel ------------------------------------------------------> 5100 m/s, 6100 m/s

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9y ago

Sound requires a medium in which to travel. Sound cannot travel in a vacuum.

Sound travels pretty well in a metal, and will diminish in intensity according to how much is dampened in the material. The metal with the highest sound velocity is Beryllium, in which its velocity is almost 13 km/sec.

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14y ago

The speed of sound in air, of which 78% is nitrogen ~ 340 m/s

in water ~ 1560 m/s in steel ~ 6000 m/s Hence, steel is the winner.

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13y ago

in solid medium

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11y ago

metal

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Q: In which medium sound travels faster air steel water vacuum?
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Related questions

What does sound go faster through a vacuum or a solid?

Sound does not travel in a vacuum. It needs a medium in which to travel (unlike light) and so sound cannot travel in a vacuum. However, in a solid sound travels faster than in air.


What happens when a sound wave travels through a medium?

Sound waves travel through any medium with the exception of vacuum. The denser the medium, the faster the sound waves travel, because the waves can be farther apart..


Sound travels faster in a?

"dense medium"


Which medium sound travels faster?

solid


How a medium affect sound?

Sound speed is changing with medium. Metal medium has high speedsfor sound.


What can a medium travel thru?

Nothing (say a vacuum). The medium is what the sound travels through.


What is the fact of medium on the speed of sound?

Sound travels at different speeds depending on the medium. Sound will travel the fastest through solids.


Sound travels in water?

Yes. Sound can travel in any medium. (except vacuum)


Which medium does sound travel fastest in?

Sound travels faster in solids than it does in liquids. thus, sound travels faster in liquids than it does in solids


What medium sound waves travel through?

Sound waves can travel through any matter- liquid, gas or solids. The denser the matter, the faster the sound travels. It cannot travel through vacuum- a vacuum is an absence of matter.


What happens when waves travel through a medium?

The molecule of the medium vibrates at the dirction in which the wave travels


Relate the speed of sound to different mediums?

The denser the medium, the faster sound travels in it.