You can experience the speed of sound at big stadium concerts where you can see the drummer hit the drums but the sound is not in synch with what you see. You will see your friend’s hands clapping and then hear the clap. Go to a large field (as big as a football field or bigger) with a friend and ask them to clap. Echoes, echoes, echoes… The speed of sound can be heard and easily visualized by exploring sound echoes that bounce off walls, fences, hillsides, and other objects.Commercial jet planes travel about 250-350 mph below the speed of sound. Unless you were watching a fighter jet, that jet was not going at the speed of sound. Imagine the fastest jet plane you have ever seen. The fastest plane you’ve ever seen is traveling a bit slower than the speed of sound.This is possible because “the speed of sound = the speed of Earth spinning.” You see lightning before you hear thunder because of the speed of sound. We can train our brains to “see” the speed of the Earth’s rotation (I’ve named this speed the “ Speed of Day“). You will understand that the speed of sound is the speed of day. What does this mean for you and your approach to physical astronomy? You have to train your brain to see the speed of sound, then you will be able to feel the Earth spinning.
The speed of the Earth’s rotation at the equator is faster than the speed of sound! But, because of the Earth’s shape, the Earth’s rotation speed is exactly equal to the speed of sound at two latitudes on the Earth: 42.97 North and 42.97 South. This is really fast, but it is still a visible and imaginable speed. The speed of sound in air is 1235 kph (767 mph). You can “feel the Earth spin under your feet” and all it takes is a little bit of imagination. However, you can learn a surprising way to feel the rotation of the Earth – and it has to do with the speed of sound. It’s no wonder it took humans so long to figure out that the Earth is spinning and moving! The idea of a moving Earth seems preposterous. It’s easy to feel and then believe that the Earth stays still and everything else moves around us the Earth doesn’t seem to be moving. We know what it feels like to move. We can feel a car accelerate and turn – but these sense organs don’t help us feel the Earth’s changes in speed and constant turning. We get this sense from organs of the inner ear. Motion senses don’t feel the motionĪnother reason that we can’t feel the Earth spinning is because our sense of balance. The sky is our open window to find those other objects that are not “on the Earth.” We will use them to explore the Earth’s speed and movement. But, if you could open a window in the car you would see the motion of the other objects not in the car. We don’t feel the motion at all unless the car turns or speeds up or slows down.Įverything seems to be staying still but this stillness is an illusion. All of this stuff in the car is moving along with us at the same speed. Inside the car we chat with our friends, the seats are comfortable, and maybe a hot drink sits placid in a cup holder. The car cruises on a smooth highway at 100 kph (62 mph). Imagine riding in a fast car that has no windows. Our inner ear is not sensitive enough to feel the gradual changes in momentum caused by Earth’s constant turning.Everything around us moves in the same direction and speed, and.Because the Earth is enormous compared to us, and.This illusion of non-motion happens for several reasons: The Earth spins at about 1000 mph (1609 kph) at the equator.
#Speed of sound kph how to#
You are about to learn the answer and learn how to experience this speed! We are too small to see the illusion
It’s hard to imagine just how large the Earth is and just how fast it is carrying us around in its daily motion. Until we look up and we see the Sun speeding through the sky – then the questions start to fly: “Why does the Sun move across the sky?”, “How big is the Earth?”, “How fast is the Earth spinning?” Q: If the Earth is spinning why can’t we feel it? A: The Earth is gigantic and we are tiny. We humans are tiny so we don’t notice that everything on Earth moves along with us. Many people ask “Why can’t I feel the Earth spinning?” Or “Why don’t we feel the rotation of the Earth?” The answer is that the Earth is so large and we are so small in comparison that we just get carried along for the ride.
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