Question

Speed of sound is maximum in which medium ?

Answer 1

Hint: In order to answer the above question, we will try and understand the speed of the sound. We will be discussing the factors affecting the speed of sound in a medium. Finally we will conclude our answer and find the medium in which the speed of light can be maximum.

Complete answer:
As we all have studied that the sound waves pass through a medium by contracting and expanding the medium's sections in alternating patterns. Any sound's speed is defined as the distance it travels per unit time. The dynamic propagation of sound waves is what determines the speed of sound. This is determined by the properties of the medium in which the propagation occurs. The term "speed of sound" refers to the speed of sound waves in an elastic medium.

The formula for sound speed is determined on the basis of gases. It's the square root of the product of the gas's adiabatic expansion coefficient and pressure divided by the medium's density. The following is the mathematical representation:
$v=\sqrt{\dfrac{\gamma P}{\rho }}$
Where, $v$is the speed of sound, $\gamma $ is the coefficient of adiabatic expansion, $P$ is the pressure of the gas and $\rho $ is the density of the medium.

From the above equation, we can conclude that the speed of sound depends upon:
Density: There must be a medium for sound waves to travel, and the density of the medium is one of the factors that influences the speed of sound. When the medium is thick, the molecules are bundled tightly together, allowing sound to move quicker. As a result, as the density of the medium increases, so does the speed of sound.

Temperature: The temperature of the medium and the speed of the sound waves are directly proportional. As a result, the speed of sound increases as the temperature rises.As a result, we can say that solids have a higher density than liquids or gases. This means that in solids, molecules are closer together than in liquids, and in liquids, molecules are closer together than in gases.

Because of their near proximity due to density, they can collide very easily. In practice, it takes less time for a solid molecule to collide with its neighboring molecule. As a result, longitudinal sound waves in solids propagate faster than they do in liquids and gases. Despite the fact that the inertial factor favor’s gases, the elastic factor has a greater effect on wave speed ($v$), resulting in the following general pattern:
${{v}_{solids}}>{{v}_{liquids}}>{{v}_{gases}}$

Therefore, we can say that the speed of sound is maximum in solid materials or solid medium compared to liquids and gases.

Note:It is very important to note that the sound wave requires a medium to travel unlike the light waves which do not require any medium to travel. Therefore, the speed of sound in vacuum is zero as there are no particles present in the vacuum. It is also important to note that although frequency refers to the number of movements made by a single particle per unit of time, speed refers to the distance travelled per unit of time by the disturbance. There is quite a difference between the two.