Quotation from: General Science

Written by: Bertha M. Clark


254. Velocity of Sound. The transmission of motion from particle to
particle does not occur instantaneously, but requires time. If the
distance is short, so that few air particles are involved, the time
required for transmission is very brief, and the sound is heard at
practically the instant it is made. Ordinarily we are not conscious
that it requires time for sound to travel from its source to our ears,
because the distance involved is too short. At other times we
recognize that there is a delay; for example, thunder reaches our ears
after the lightning which caused the thunder has completely
disappeared. If the storm is near, the interval of time between the
lightning and the thunder is brief, because the sound does not have
far to travel; if the storm is distant, the interval is much longer,
corresponding to the greater distance through which the sound travels.
Sound does not move instantaneously, but requires time for its
transmission. The report of a distant cannon is heard after the flash
and smoke are seen; the report of a near cannon is heard the instant
the flash is seen.

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