Question

heya guys good evening
HOPE YOU ALL ARE HAVING A GREAT DAY
... we know that sound velocity is inversely proportional to square root of density...... Then my question is why do sound travel fastest in solid whose density is greatest compared to liquid and gases



Plz explain briefly

Answer 1

You'll need to learn about tension and elasticity first.
Solids are the most elastic out of the three, which means they have the ability to regain their shape or retain it. Sounds travel as transverse waves in solids. That's a lot to say! because you'll find books saying sounds always travels as longitudinal wave, which is wrong. Sound travels as transverse wave too, when travelling through solids.
The relationship between sound and density you're talking about applies to longitudinal waves.
The above argument follows that due to elastic nature of solids, sound travels fastest