Echo-based measurement of the speed of sound
Alivia Berg, Michael Courtney
TL;DR
This paper presents a simple, practical method for measuring the speed of sound in air using echo timing from a balloon pop and a microphone, suitable for educational purposes.
Contribution
It introduces an accessible, low-cost experimental setup for accurately measuring the speed of sound through echo timing.
Findings
Effective in educational settings
Provides accurate measurements with minimal equipment
Easy to implement and understand
Abstract
The speed of sound in air can be measured by popping a balloon next to a microphone a measured distance away from a large flat wall, digitizing the sound waveform, and measuring the time between the sound of popping and return of the echo to the microphone. The round trip distance divided by the time is the speed of sound.
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Taxonomy
TopicsExperimental and Theoretical Physics Studies · Flow Measurement and Analysis