Sunday, February 12, 2012

How fast does sound travel through air in absolute zero?

I know sound travels faster or slower depending on what medium it's being passed through, but temperature also influences the speed, because hotter air has more energetic molecules that consequently transmit sound faster because of more frequent collisions. But, say, how fast would sound travel in absolute zero (through air, not a vacuum, i.e. space, because that would be impossible)? Even though it says that technically there is no particle movement at 0K, absolute lack of movement is impossible. That being said, how fast WOULD sound travel?How fast does sound travel through air in absolute zero?Absolute lack of movement has not been OBSERVED. It is possible. Just like reaching Absolute Zero is POSSIBLE.



Theoretically, not sound could pass through any medium that is maintained at absolute zero. But simply adding the energy from the sound may be enough to excite some of the particles back into movement, allowing sound travel, albeit at a retarded rate.



So I guess the answer depends on the intensity of the sound (whether it is enough to travel at all, or travel the distance to the detector), but beyond that it's hard to say.How fast does sound travel through air in absolute zero?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocity_of鈥?/a>

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