How fast does sound travel?
When a gun is fired at a distance of several hundred yards from an observer, he first sees the smoke and then hears the report. When a distant locomotive whistles, the steam from the whistle is seen a few seconds before the sound of the whistle is heard. Likewise, a flash of lightning is seen before the sound of thunder reaches us. Do these illustrations show that time is required for sound to travel?
Experiments show that the speed of sound in dry air at 0° C. is about 1087 feet per second; this speed increases slightly as the temperature rises.
