Speed of sound

In this cool sound resonance experiment, learn about frequency and pitch, and use a tuning fork to calculate sound velocity in air.

We humans have an amazing array of senses that we use to experience our world, but we tend to limit our awareness by relying on just a few of them. As children, we are taught that our five senses are the only way to discern the truth, and that anything that can’t be experienced this way is frivolous or false. The truth is that there are many more than five senses; we have a sense of body awareness, balance, pain, and others. In addition, there is vibrational awareness, or a sense of…

When we talk about the speed of sound, we usually mean how fast it moves through air. But it can travel much faster through other media, and now scientists at the University of Cambridge have identified the absolute top speed of sound.

Physicists propose a new maximum rate that sound waves can travel under conditions normally found on Earth — 36 kilometers per second.

Wave Speed through different mediums

A Research Guide to assist students in their Nobel Laureate Project.

Officials in the South Korean capital Seoul hope the near-supersonic mode of transport will be able to travel more than 620mph - drastically reducing journey times in the country.

The Doppler effect is the change in frequency of a wave as its source moves relative to the observer. The same effect that causes the change in pitch of a…

Felix Baumgartner - on 14 October 2012 set the altitude record for a manned balloon flight, parachute jump from the highest altitude, and greatest free fall velocity, an estimated speed of 1,357.64 km/h (843.6 mph), or Mach 1.25 " the first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power on his descent"