The speed of sound in various solids, liquids, and gases is given in these tables. While only a single parameter v is needed for liquids and gases, sound propagation in isotropic solids is characterized by three velocity parameters. For a solid of infinite extent (or of finite extent if all dimensions are much larger than a wavelength), there are two relevant quantities.
vl: Velocity of longitudinal waves
vs: Velocity of shear waves
For a cylindrical rod with diameter much smaller than a wavelength,
vext: Velocity of extensional waves along the rod. (Torsional waves in the rod are propagated at the same speed as sheer waves in an infinite solid.)
Table 1 lists values for a variety of solid materials. All values are in meters per second and are given for normal atmospheric pressure.
Column definitions for Table 1 are as follows.
Column heading | Definition |
Name | Name of solid material; materials are listed alphabetically by name within their class |
vl | Velocity of longitudinal waves, in m s-1 |
vs | Velocity of shear waves, in m s-1 |
vext | Velocity of extensional waves, in m s-1 |
Name | vl/m s–1 | vs/m s–1 | vext/m s–1 |
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Metals | |||
Aluminum, rolled | 6420 | 3040 | 5000 |
Beryllium | 12890 | 8880 | 12870 |
Brass (70 Cu, 30 Zn) | 4700 | 2110 | 3480 |
Constantan | 5177 | 2625 | 4270 |
Copper, annealed | 4760 | 2325 | 3810 |
Copper, rolled | 5010 | 2270 | 3750 |
Duralumin 17S | 6320 | 3130 | 5150 |
Gold, hard-drawn | 3240 | 1200 | 2030 |
Iron, cast | 4994 | 2809 | 4480 |
Iron, electrolytic | 5950 | 3240 | 5120 |
Iron, Armco | 5960 | 3240 | 5200 |
Lead, annealed | 2160 | 700 | 1190 |
Lead, rolled | 1960 | 690 | 1210 |
Magnesium, annealed | 5770 | 3050 | 4940 |
Molybdenum | 6250 | 3350 | 5400 |
Monel metal | 5350 | 2720 | 4400 |
Nickel | 6040 | 3000 | 4900 |
Platinum | 3260 | 1730 | 2800 |
Silver | 3650 | 1610 | 2680 |