Calculation of the Speed of Sound c in Air and the effective Temperature

The important Air Temperature and the non relevant Atmospheric pressure (Air pressure) Barometric pressure
At 0C is 0 = 1.293 kg/m3, Z0 = 428 Ns/m3, and c0 = 331 m/s At 15C is 20 = 1.225 kg/m3, Z20 = 417 Ns/m3, and c20 = 340 m/s At 20C is 20 = 1.204 kg/m3, Z20 = 413 Ns/m3, and c20 = 343 m/s At 25C is 20 = 1.184 kg/m3, Z25 = 410 Ns/m3, and c25 = 346 m/s Air density or density of air (rho), air impedance Z, speed of sound c The speed of sound in air is determined by the air itself and is not dependent upon the amplitude, frequency, or wavelength of the sound. For an ideal gas the speed of sound depends only on the temperature and is independent of gas pressure. This dependence also applies to air, in good approximation and can be regarded as an ideal gas. This is a site for sound engineers and musicians. We are interested in the speed of sound of air (!) on Earth at places where acoustic musical instruments or voices are used, usually in rooms or halls. The speed of sound of atmospheric layers, as in 100 km altitude, or close to the vacuum is not of interest. Also we do not care about higher air pressure in car tires. Which speed does sound have?

What is the speed of sound in air? Speed of sound depends only on the temperature of the air.

Forget the air pressure! "At sea level" is not correct.

Select the temperature unit The speed of sound c is: and enter the air temperature:
20

m/s Celsius Fahrenheit kelvin Rankine km/h - not kmh! mph miles per hour ft/s feet per second knots

Notice for musicians and technicians (not for physics professors):

The speed of sound changes clearly with temperature, a little bit with humidity but not with air pressure (atmospheric pressure). The words "sound pressure at sea level" are incorrect and misleading in the case of "speed of sound". The temperature indication, however, is absolutely necessary. The changing of atmospheric pressure does not change the sound of musical instruments in a concert hall or in a room.

Google is not correct (look at the following link)

http://www.google.com/search?q=speed+of+sound+at+sea+level
Here is the answer of Google: "Speed of sound at sea level = 340.29 m/s". This is not a good answer, because they forgot to tell us the important temperature, and the given atmospheric pressure "at sea level" makes really no sense.

In SI units with dry air at 20C (68F), the speed of sound c is 343 meters per second (m/s). This also equates to 1235 km/h, 1125 feet per second (ft/s or fps), 666 knots, 767.3 miles per hour (mi/h or mph), 12.79 miles per minute (mi/min), 0.2131 miles per second (mi/s), That is 0.343 kilometers per second (km/s), or 20.58 kilometers per minute (km/min).
It makes no sense to give the speed of sound adding the words at the "standard atmosphere at sea level". To get the speed of sound the temperature is important, not the barometric pressure. Statement: The static air pressure p_ and the density of air (air density) are proportional at the same temperature. The ratio p_ / is always constant, on a high mountain or even on sea level altitude.

Speed of sound That means, the ratio p_ / is always constant on a high mountain, and even at "sea level". The static atmospheric pressure p_ and the density of air go always together. The ratio stays constant. When calculating the speed of sound forget the atmospheric pressure, but look accurately at the very important temperature. The speed of sound varies with altitude (height) only because of the changing temperature there! Adiabatic index or ratio of specific heats (kappa) = cp / cv. Generally we take with sufficient accuracy the formula (equation) for the speed of sound in air in m/s vs. temperature (theta) in degrees Celsius (centigrade):

Speed of sound

in m/s.

That gives e.g. at = 20C a speed of sound c = 331.3 + 0.606 20 = 343.42 m/s. Often the easy calculation will do: c 331 + 0.6 20 = 343 m/s. 1C change of temperature is equal to 60 cm/s change of speed of sound. With the following formula you can calculate more exactly the speed of sound.

Speed of sound

in m/s; temperature in C

The speed of sound c depends on the temperature of air and not on the air pressure! The humidity of air has some negligible effect on the speed of sound. The air pressure and the density of air (air density) are proportional to each other at the same temperature. It applies always p / = constant. rho is the density and p is the sound pressure. Therefore air pressure does not enter into the calculation of the speed of sound of air. Notice: The speed of sound is alike on a mountain top as well as at sea level with the same air temperature. We can assume that this is even at 100 km altitude the case. Look for the following answer of the question: "What is the speed of sound?"

Speed of sound - temperature matters, not air pressure

Density of air (air density) = air pressure p_ (gas constant R temperature in Kelvin) = p_ / R T in kg/m3. The specific gas constant for dry air is R = 287.058 J/kgK Joule J = newton meter = N m and T in Kelvin = C + 273.15 Atmospheric pressure p0 = 101325 Pa = 1013.25 mbar = 1013.25 hPa R = 287.058 J/kgK T0 = 273.15 K at 0C 0 = 101325 / (287.058 273.15) = 1.2922 kg/m T20 = 293.15 K at 20C 20 = 101325 / (287.058 293.15) = 1.2041 kg/m Sometimes it is incorrectly assumed that the air pressure and air density are the same . The speed of sound c is not the particle velocity v. The sound velocity is the particle velocity.

The speed of sound is called Mach 1

Mach is commonly used to represent an object's speed, such as an aircraft

or a missile, when it is travelling at the speed of sound or at multiples of it. The speed higher than Mach 1 is called supersonic speed.

Mach number below 1 means the flow velocity is lower than the speed of sound - and the speed is subsonic. Mach number 1 means the flow velocity is the speed of sound - and the speed around that is transonic. Mach number above 1 means the flow velocity is higher than the speed of sound - and the speed is supersonic. More than Mach number 5 is called hypersonic. Note: The speed of sound c is independent of the frequency and the amplitude of the sound wave.

Table (chart): The clear impact of temperature

Speed of sound, density of air, specific acoustic impedance vs. temperature
Temperature of air in C
+35 +30 +25 +20 +15 +10 +5 0 5 10 15 20 25

Speed of sound c in m/s

351.96 349.08 346.18 343.26 340.31 337.33 334.33 331.30 328.24 325.16 322.04 318.89 315.72

Time per 1 m t in ms/m

2.840 2.864 2.888 2.912 2.937 2.963 2.990 3.017 3.044 3.073 3.103 3.134 3.165

Density of air in kg/m3

1.1455 1.1644 1.1839 1.2041 1.2250 1.2466 1.2690 1.2920 1.3163 1.3413 1.3673 1.3943 1.4224

Impedance of air Z in Ns/m3

403.2 406.5 409.4 413.3 416.9 420.5 424.3 428.0 432.1 436.1 440.3 444.6 449.1

Notice: Air pressure p and air density are not the same. In gases, the higher the velocity of sound, the higher the pitch will be, when you sing. Only because of the decreasing air temperature, which decreases with altitude, the speed of sound decreases.
In conventional use and in scientific literature sound velocity is the same as speed of sound or acoustic velocity. Sound velocity c should not be confused with sound particle velocity v, which is the velocity of the individual particles.

Approximate speed of sound in common materials Medium

Air, dry at 20C

Speed of sound m /s ft/s

343 1 125

Hydrogen at 0C Water at 15 C Lead Concrete Wood (soft - along the fibre) Glass Steel

1 280 1 500 2 160 3 100 3 800 5 500 5 800

4 200 4 920 7 090 10 200 12 500 18 500 19 000

In a given ideal gas the speed of sound depends only on its temperature. The speed of sound in still air at 0 degrees Celsius is 331.29 m / s. It depends on the temperature and material. Since sound is transferred easily through densely packed molecules, it is faster in denser substances. Thus the speed of sound increases with the stiffness of the material. On the frequent question: "How much is the speed of sound?" must always follow the demand: "At what temperature, please?" Who mentions the barometric pressure, has still something to learn.

Speed of sound and acoustic velocity

Speed is the rate of change of distance with time. Velocity is a measure of both speed and direction of a moving object. Velocity is the rate of change of displacement with time. Speed is a distance an object goes, velocity is measurement of speed AND direction. In a given ideal gas the sound speed depends only on its temperature. The speed of sound in still air at 0 degrees Celsius is 331.29 m/s. It depends on the temperature, and the material. Since sound is more easily transmitted between close molecules, it travels faster in the denser substance. Thus the speed of sound increases with the stiffness of the material.

Really wrong answers at "Yahoo! Answers"

How does the speed of sound in air depend on air pressure? 1st wrong answer: Best Answer - Chosen by Voters Thinner air has less atoms floating around in it than denser (higher pressure) air. Since sound waves travel faster when unimpeded, less air pressure equates to faster speed due to decreased atmospheric 'viscosity'. 2nd wrong answer: Speed of sound in air is directly proportional to the square root of pressure.

The correct answer is: The speed of sound does not depend on air pressure, but on temperature. Air pressure is not the same as density of air. Some interesting links to the speed of sound (velocity of sound): Calculation of the speed of sound in humid air and the air pressure Calculation of the wavelength of a wave in air when frequency and temperature is known Speed of sound - temperature matters, not air pressure Pitch change by temperature change (variation) Calculations and conversions of pressure units More conversions of pressure and stress units Conversions of pressure units

Properties of sound in air

To use the calculator, simply enter a value. The calculator works in both directions of the sign.
Temperature (theta): C Frequency f:
500
20.0

Speed of sound v: m/s Wavelength :

0.68664
343.42

Hz

Speed and Velocity - The Difference

Speed is the distance in a certain period of time. Velocity is a measure of both speed and direction of a moving object. Difference: Speed is a distance an object goes in unit time. Velocity is displacement made in unit time. Difference: Speed is a scalar quantity it only has magnitude and cannot be zero. Velocity is a vector quantity it has both magnitude and direction and it can be zero. A sentence from Jim March from the news group "The Firing Line Forums": http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3836426 According to him, altitude (mostly?) doesn't matter (regarding speed of sound), although of course at some point it must when you get close enough to outer space. Answer: In the outer space there is no air and consequently also no sound. I am not content with this standard table Speed of Sound at Different Altitudes because it seems to tell us, that the speed of sound has to do with the altitude (height) above ground and its air pressure. The speed of sound has really to do only with the temperature. It's cold up there.

Converter: Fahrenheit to Celsius and Celsius to Fahrenheit

To use the calculator, simply enter a value. The calculator works in both directions of the sign.
Temperature in Fahrenheit: F F = C 1.8 + 32
32

Temperature in Celsius: C C = (F 32) / 1.8

0

Sound pressure or acoustic pressure is the local pressure deviation from the ambient atmospheric pressure caused by a sound wave. Sound pressure can be measured using a microphone in air. The SI unit for sound pressure p is the pascal symbol: Pa. NASA says: The speed of sound is dependent on the temperature of the air. It varies with altitude (height) only because of the changing temperature! The atmospheric pressure is proportional to the density of air. Therefore both values have no effect on the speed of sound. "Speed of sound": http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/sound.html "Speed of sound": http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/BGH/sound.html "Atmos Modeler Simulator": http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/atmosi.html "Variables that affect the speed of sound (Quicktime)": http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Variables_That_Affect_the_S peed.html "Speed of Sound Derivation": http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/BGH/snddrv.html "Mach number": http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/mach.html Example: The speed of sound in air at 0C can be calculated as c = (1.4(287,058 J/K kg)(273.15 K))^1/2 = 331.2 m/s, where (kappa) = 1.4 and specific gas constant R = 287,058 (J/K kg) The speed of sound in air at 20C can be calculated as c = (1.4(287,058 J/K kg)(293.15 K))^1/2 = 343.1 m/s. Zonal mean vertical profile of temperature in the atmosphere during June at 45 North

Temperature vs. Height (Atmospheric Pressure)