Question

What determines the speed of sound in a material? I suppose what I'm asking is, given the conditions of an arbitrary material (particle size, particle speed, density etc), could you work it out theoretically?

Answer 1

The speed of sound is given by the square root ratio of the Bulk Modulus(ehich measures compressibility) to the density.

\[v=\sqrt{B/d}\]

Answer 2

Thanks!