Lecture on the Variability of the Speed of Sound
Sven Gelbhaar
7/2/2026
Hey everyone, so we’ve covered in this series called Occam’s Razor the fact that the speed of light might be variable, and that brought on the notion that potentially the speed of sound is as well. So we’re going to explore that just a little bit.
The speed of sound is said to be dependent upon the density of the transmission medium. We see this hinted at by Newton’s cradle, wherein momentum, or rather acceleration, is immediately, seemingly, you know, just pushed through the transmission medium of the stationary balls on the bottom. However, it occurs to me that the speed of sound is going to be dependent upon the density, of course, of the transmission medium, but also the initial acceleration, the speed of the initial kinetic impact on that system. Because that very much carries through with the atomic particles colliding with their neighbors in the transmission medium, that force, that speed, that momentum, in other words, is what I’m trying to say, does get imparted upon the constituent particles that comprise the transmission medium. So to sum up real quick, depends on the density of the transmission medium to allow for faster, the more dense, the faster it’ll get transmitted through the transmission medium. But it also is dependent, you know, especially in lower density systems on the initial kinetic energy imparted on that transmission medium.
I hope that made some modicum of sense. If not, find me and I can give you maybe a better explanation later.
All the best to you and happy prognostications.