answersLogoWhite

0

Sound travels best when it's in something which is tight - consider the "telephone" using two cups and a piece of string. When you warm anything up, it becomes more "loose" as the molecules become excited. (Ice is hard until you melt it. Tar is pretty stiff unless you heat it up.) So it follows that sound would travel *better* in a cold environment. There would be better transmission of the wave from one molecule to the next, and the molecules would typically be closer together, so it would theoretically travel a little faster. However, if the medium is air, this also depends hugely on the air pressure. As the pressure decreases, the molecules become more sparse (less dense), and it's more difficult for an affected molecule to pass on the waveform. So sound at the top of Everest may not travel as quickly as sound in the middle of the desert, despite the obvious temperature difference.

User Avatar

Wiki User

16y ago

What else can I help you with?

Continue Learning about Earth Science

The low point of a sound wave where the lowest air pressure occurs?

The low point of a sound wave, where the lowest air pressure occurs, is known as the trough. It is the point of the wave where air particles are farthest apart, leading to decreased air pressure. Sound waves consist of both high and low pressure points as they travel through a medium like air.


Atmospheric pressure in context of sound?

The instantaneous sound pressure is the deviation from the local ambient pressure po caused by a sound wave at a given location and given instant in time. The effective sound pressure is the root mean square of the instantaneous sound pressure over a given interval of time (or space). Total pressure is given by: p-total = po + p-osc where: po = local ambient atmospheric (air) pressure, p-osc = sound pressure deviation. The standard atmosphere is a unit of pressure and is defined as being equal to po = 101325 Pa. Sound pressure level (SPL) or sound level is a logarithmic measure of the effective sound pressure of a sound relative to a reference value. It is measured in decibels (dB) above a standard reference level. The commonly used reference sound pressure level in air of 0 dB is equivalent to the sound pressure of p = 20 µPa RMS, which is usually considered the threshold of human hearing at 1 kHz. The threshold of of pain has a level of about 137.5 dB equivalent to a sound pressure of 150 Pa.


Are winds stronger near a high pressure area or a low pressure area?

Winds are typically stronger near a low pressure area because air flows from high pressure to low pressure, creating faster wind speeds. In contrast, near a high pressure area, the air is descending and spreading out, resulting in lighter winds.


How is wind speed related to pressure differential?

Wind speed is directly related to pressure differential. Air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, creating wind. The stronger the pressure gradient (difference in pressure over distance), the faster the wind will blow.


How does pressure affect the movement of surface air?

Pressure gradients drive the movement of surface air. Air flows from areas of high pressure to low pressure, creating winds. The greater the pressure difference, the faster the air movement.

Related Questions

Why does sound travel faster at the bottom of a mountain than it does at the top?

Speed of sound in air is dependent on the air pressure, and air pressure is dependent on height above sea level. Up high, pressure is lower and speed of sound is different.


Do sound waves travel in high pressure?

Yes, sound waves can travel through substances with varying pressure levels. In general, sound waves can travel through both low and high-pressure environments, but the speed and characteristics of the sound wave may be affected by the pressure level of the medium through which it is traveling.


How does air tempurature affect the speed of sound?

Sound waves travel through particle vibration, and when the temperature is high, the particles vibrate faster, thus the sound must travel faster with particles.


Where do sound waves travel at their fastest?

Sound travel faster in solids than in liquids, and faster in liquids than in gases. Sound travels faster in water than in the air but in solids it travels about eight times faster. Sound travels at the fastest speed in steel. In solids it travel faster in a hot surface, the particles move faster if the solid is cold its slower the movement.


Can sound travel faster through a high density gas?

Yes, sound travels faster in a high density gas because the particles in the gas are closer together, allowing for faster transmission of sound waves. The speed of sound in a medium depends on the medium's density and compressibility.


Why does sound travel faster in solid than in air?

It is according to the nature. Generally sound travels with high speeds in metals.


Does air at high pressure transmit sound faster than air at low pressure?

No. The speed of sound in air changes clearly with temperature, a little bit with humidity − but not with air pressure (atmospheric pressure).


Are sound waves the moving areas of high and low pressure?

Sound waves don't change with high or low pressure, but with temperature, because then the speed of sound is changing. Look ath the link: "Speed of Sound in Air and the effective Temperature".


How does longitudinal sound move?

Longitudinal sound waves move by compressing and rarefying the medium they travel through in the same direction as the wave. As the sound wave propagates, it creates areas of high pressure (compression) and low pressure (rarefaction) that travel through the medium. This results in the perception of sound by our ears.


Do compressions and rarefactions decompressions in a sound wave travel in the same direction or in opposite directions from one another?

In a sound wave, compressions and rarefactions are regions of high pressure and low pressure respectively. They travel in the same direction as the wave itself. As the wave propagates, compressions and rarefactions move through the medium in the same direction, creating the oscillating pattern of high and low pressure that we perceive as sound.


Why does sound travel faster in a soild?

Sound travels through solids faster than other states of matter because most solids are denser than liquids. Sound waves travel faster through denser media than through less dense media. and the solids have high elasticity.. sound travel faster in elastic bodies


Does sound travel fastest in metal?

Yes, sound travels fastest in solids like metals because the particles are closely packed together, allowing for faster transmission of sound waves. Metals have a high elasticity and low compressibility, which aids in the rapid propagation of sound.