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The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elastic medium. More simply, the speed of sound is how fast vibrations travel. At 20 °C (68 °F), the speed of sound in air, is about 343 m/s (1,125 ft/s; 1,235 km/h; 767 mph; 667 kn), or 1 km in 2.91 s or one mile in 4.69 s.
c is the speed of sound in the medium, which in air varies with the square root of the thermodynamic temperature. By definition, at Mach 1, the local flow velocity u is equal to the speed of sound. At Mach 0.65, u is 65% of the speed of sound (subsonic), and, at Mach 1.35, u is 35% faster than the speed of sound (supersonic).
Mach number is more useful, and most high-speed aircraft are limited to a maximum operating Mach number, also known as M MO. For example, if the M MO is Mach 0.83, then at 9,100 m (30,000 ft) where the speed of sound under standard conditions is 1,093 kilometres per hour (590 kn), the true airspeed at M MO is 906 kilometres per hour (489 kn).
The speed of sound depends on the medium the waves pass through, and is a fundamental property of the material. The first significant effort towards measurement of the speed of sound was made by Isaac Newton. He believed the speed of sound in a particular substance was equal to the square root of the pressure acting on it divided by its density:
Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level , this speed is approximately 343.2 m/s (1,126 ft/s; 768 mph; 667.1 kn; 1,236 km/h).
So the regime of flight from Mcrit up to Mach 1.3 is called the transonic range. [citation needed] Northrop X-4 Bantam (Mach 0.9) — Supersonic [1.2–5) 921–3,836 mph (1,482–6,173 km/h; 412–1,715 m/s) The supersonic speed range is that range of speeds within which all of the airflow over an aircraft is supersonic (more than Mach 1).
The speed of sound in any chemical element in the fluid phase has one temperature-dependent value. In the solid phase, different types of sound wave may be propagated, each with its own speed: among these types of wave are longitudinal (as in fluids), transversal, and (along a surface or plate) extensional. [1]
where a 0 is 1,225 km/h (661.45 kn) (the standard speed of sound at 15 °C), M is the Mach number, P is static pressure, and P 0 is standard sea level pressure (1013.25 hPa). Combining the above with the expression for Mach number gives EAS as a function of impact pressure and static pressure (valid for subsonic flow):