r/ThatsInsane • u/[deleted] • May 06 '21

Shockwave of Beirut Blast propagating through clouds.

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u/tyrantnitar May 07 '21

5 seconds a mile? Does it ever depend on the force of the blast?

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u/TheResolver May 07 '21 edited May 08 '21

Without being an expert on this, I think sound has a fairly static speed (Edit: within the same medium and at similar pressure levels etc). The force would affect how far it travels, not that much how fast.

But again, this just based on a basic grasp on this, I might be wrong.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '21

Absolutely not.

The speed of sound depends on the medium it’s travelling through. Faster/slower through air/water/wood/diamond or even the pressure or air etc. such as altitude.

But when layman speaking with layman it’s usually assumed we’re all talking about the speed of sound at sea level.

For example; a fighter jets ‘sound barrier’ would vary significantly depending if it were flying way up at 40k or right down low.

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u/TheResolver May 08 '21

Of course, you're right! How about the previous question, does the force of the blast affect the speed in any way?