fine structure constant tagged posts

Scientists find Upper Limit for the Speed of Sound

Image of a soundwave. Credit: Ali Kahfi/iStock.com
Image of a soundwave. Credit: Ali Kahfi/iStock.com

A research collaboration between Queen Mary University of London, the University of Cambridge and the Institute for High Pressure Physics in Troitsk has discovered the fastest possible speed of sound. The result- about 36 km per second — is around twice as fast as the speed of sound in diamond, the hardest known material in the world.

Waves, such as sound or light waves, are disturbances that move energy from one place to another. Sound waves can travel through different mediums, such as air or water, and move at different speeds depending on what they’re travelling through...

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