Sound is a mechanical wave

A wave is a disturbance that propagates. It carries energy without carrying matter.

Every day we hear sounds from various sources like humans, birds, bells, machines,
vehicles, televisions, radios etc. Sound is a form of energy which produces a sensation of
hearing in our ears. There are also other forms of energy like mechanical energy, heat
energy, light energy etc. We have talked about mechanical energy in the previous chapters.
You have been taught about conservation of energy, which states that we can neither create
nor destroy energy. We can just change it from one form to another. When you clap, a
sound is produced.

We can distinguish two categories of waves. The first corresponds to waves of

mechanical, elastic, thermodynamic or hydrodynamic origin, which, to manifest
themselves need a pre-existing material support, such as a system of coupled springs, rope,
gas, liquid, etc. The second corresponds to electromagnetic waves (radio waves, optical
waves, X-rays, etc.) due to the propagation of energy called photons, which can move in a
vacuum, independently of any pre-existing material environment.

Production of Sound

The production and propagation of sounds are linked to the existence of a vibratory
movement. At the source, the medium is deformed (by a shock, a compression, etc.) and,
as a result of its elasticity, the deformation reaches the neighboring molecules which,
disturbed from their position of equilibrium, act in turn gradually. close. The phenomenon
occurs without mass transport. The particles in the medium begin to vibrate one after the
other around their equilibrium position.

Propagation of Sound

A sound wave propagates like a vibration step by step by compression then expansion of
the material medium in which it is located. (This medium is either solid, liquid or gaseous).
Sound therefore needs matter to propagate: it does not propagate in a vacuum.
Speed of Sound in different mediums

The speed of sound, or celerity of sound, is the speed of propagation of sound waves in all
gaseous, liquid or solid media. It can therefore be determined for materials other than air,
in which sound cannot be perceived by the human ear.

In any fluid, whatever the pressure and temperature conditions, the speed of sound
depends on the isentropic compressibility and the density of the wave propagation medium.
In most fluids, and especially in air, it depends very little on the frequency and amplitude of
the vibration.

Down the paragraph I have listed the speed of sound in different mediums in the table
below:

Sound Needs a Medium to Travel:

Sound is a mechanical wave and needs a material medium like air, water, steel etc. for
its propagation. It cannot travel through. In fact, Sound is a 3-dimensional longitudinal
progressive mechanical wave: its propagation requires the presence of a material medium:
air for example, but also any gaseous, liquid or solid medium.