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In fact, sound does travel faster in solids than in liquids, and faster in liquids than in air. Also, we canhear through solids, but not very well. And it doesn't have anything to do with the speed of sound in the material. Let's look at what's going on.

If sound originates in air on the other side of a wall, the sound must impinge on the wall to be transmitted through it. Some of the energy is reflected and some is absorbed, so that doesn't leave much to come through to where we might be listening. Also, you can hear better with an ear to the wall. But if the sound originates in the solid wall, you can hear it better, and can hear it very well with an ear pressed to the wall. This is because the solid will propagate it better (as well as faster) than it would travel in a liquid or in air.

You might recall the old Indian trick of putting an ear to the rails to listen to find out if a train was coming. The sound is conducted in the solid rails (even with the spacing between sections) better than through the air. These people didn't know why this was so, but they knew that it was a fact.

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Related Questions

Does sound travel faster or slower through a solid than through air?

sound travels faster through a solid than through air


Through which material does sound travel faster?

Sound travels faster through solid materials. The 2nd fastest is liquids.


Can a sound be faster than a other sound?

yes, sound travels faster in liquids and solids than in gases e.g. faster in water than through air. The denser the solid, the faster the sound travels.


Sound travels fastely in which solid?

Sound travels fastest in solids because the particles in solids are more closely packed together, allowing sound waves to travel more efficiently through the material. This is why we often hear sounds more clearly and quickly through solid objects.


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.


How does sound travel differently though solid and gases?

It may seem awkward, but sound actually travels faster through solids than gasses, especially dense solids.


Does sound travel faster through through a solid or gas?

Sound travels faster through some solid because, in general, the particles are packed more closely together. This transfers the sound wave faster. Other solids do not transmit sound well at all.


'Does sound travel faster through a solid liquid or gas?

Sound travels fastest through solids because the particles in a solid are more closely packed together, allowing sound waves to propagate more efficiently through the material. In liquids, sound travels slower than in solids due to the looser arrangement of particles, while in gases, sound travels slowest because the particles are further apart.


Dose sound travel fastset through solid?

Sound travels faster through solids and other materials because it has more mass to vibrate, compared to air.


How fast does sound move in solid?

Sound travels 16 times faster in solids then in air.


What medium sound travels through the fastest and why?

Sound travels fastest through solids because the particles in a solid are densely packed, allowing for faster transmission of vibrations. This is because the molecules are close together in a solid, making it easier for the vibrations to travel from one molecule to the next.


Does sound travel slower in solids?

No, in fact it travels faster in solids. In solid substances the atoms are tighter and closer to eachother. Therefore they vibrate with a very small dislocation. Because of this sound travels much faster in say, steel, than in air or water.