SPACE & PHYSICS
Physicists clock the fastest possible speed of sound
Words by Stephanie Pappas
Scientists have discovered the fastest possible speed of sound: about 36 kilometres per second. Sound waves move at different speeds in solids, liquids and gases. Within those states of matter they travel faster in warmer liquids compared with colder ones. Physicist Kostya Trachenko of Queen Mary University of London and his colleagues wanted to figure out the upper limits of how fast sound could travel.