Velocity of Sound in Various Media

The speed of sound in air is around 768 mi/hr (1,125 ft/sec, 343m/sec), or about 5 seconds per mile, or 3 seconds per kilometer. That is the reason for the rule of thumb where when you see a flash of lightning, count the number of seconds until you hear the thunder clap, then divide by five. That gives you the approximate distance (in miles) away of the lightning. Divide by three for kilometers.

The speed of sound in any medium is dependent upon the coefficient of stiffness (modulus of bulk elasticity for gas mediums). Density and/or compressibility alone does not determine the speed of sound.

    V_l = Velocity of plane longitudinal wave in bulk material.
   V_s = Velocity of plane transverse (shear) wave.
V_ext = Velocity of longitudinal wave (extensional wave) in thin rods.
 

Solids
Substance	Density (g/cm3)	Vl (m/s)	Vs (m/s)	Vext (m/s)
Metals
Aluminum, rolled	2.7	6420	3040	5000
Berylium	1.87	12890	8880	12870
Brass (70 Cu, 30 Zn)	8.6	4700	2110	3480
Copper, annealed	8.93	4760	2325	3810
Copper, rolled	8.93	5010	2270	3750
Gold, hard-drawn	19.7	3240	1200	2030
Iron, Armco	7.85	5960	3240	5200
Lead, annealed	11.4	2160	700	1190
Lead, rolled	11.4	1960	690	1210
Molybdenum	10.1	6250	3350	5400
Monel metal	8.90	5350	2720	4400
Nickel (unmagnetized)	8.85	5480	2990	4800
Nickel	8.9	6040	3000	4900
Platinum	21.4	3260	1730	2800
Silver	10.4	3650	1610	2680
Steel, mild	7.85	5960	3235	5200
Steel, 347 Stainless	7.9	5790	3100	5000
Tin, rolled	7.3	3320	1670	2730
Titaninum	4.5	6070	3125	5080
Tungsten, annealed	19.3	5220	2890	4620
Tungsten Carbide	13.8	6655	3980	6220
Zinc, rolled	7.1	4210	2440	3850
Various
Fused silica	2.2	5968	3764	5760
Glass, pyrex	2.32	5640	3280	5170
Glass, heavy silicate flint	3.88	3980	2380	3720
Lucite	1.18	2680	1100	1840
Nylon 6-6	1.11	2620	1070	1800
Polyethylene	0.90	1950	540	920
Polystyrene	1.06	2350	1120	2240
Rubber, butyl	1.07	1830
Rubber, gum	0.95	1550
Rubber neoprene	1.33	1600
Brick	1.8			3650
Clay rock	2.2			3480
Cork	0.25			500
Marble	2.6			3810
Paraffin	0.9			1300
Tallow				390
Woods
Ash, along the fiber				4670
Beech, along the fiber				3340
Elm, along the fiber				4120
Maple, along the fiber				4110
Oak, along the fiber				3850
Human Body Tissues
Soft Tissue

Liquids
Substance	Formula	Density (g/cm3)	Velocity at 25°C (m/s)	-δv/δt (m/sec °C)
Acetone	C3H60	0.79	1174	4.5
Benzene	C6H6	0.870	1295	4.65
Carbon tetrachloride	CCl4	1.595	926	2.7
Castor oil	C11H10O10	0.969	1477	3.6
Chloroform	CHCl3	1.49	987	3.4
Ethanol amide	C2H7NO	1.018	1724	3.4
Ethyl ether	C4H10O	0.713	985	4.87
Ethylene glycol	C2H6O2	1.113	1658	2.1
Glycerol	C3H8O3	1.26	1904	2.2
Kerosene		0.81	1324	3.6
Mercury	Hg	13.5	1450
Methanol	CH4O	0.791	1103	3.2
Turpentine		0.88	1255
Water (distilled)	H2O	0.998	1496.7	-2.4

Gases and Vapors
Substance	Formula	Density (g/l)	Velocity (m/s)	δv/δt (m/sec °C)
Gases
Air, dry		1.293	331.45	0.59
Ammonia	NH3	0.771	415
Argon	Ar	1.783	319 (at 20°C)	0.56
Carbon monoxide	CO	1.25	338	0.6
Carbon dioxide	CO2	1.977	259	0.4
Chlorine	CL2	3.214	206
Deuterium	D2		890	1.6
Ethane (10°C)	C2H6	1.356	308
Ethylene	C2H4	1.260	317
Helium	He	0.178	965	0.8
Hydrogen	H2	0.0899	1284	2.2
Hydrogen chloride	HCl	1.639	296
Methane	CH4	0.7168	430
Neon	Ne	0.900	435	0.8
Nitric oxide (10°C)	NO	1.34	324
Nitrogen	N2	1.251	334	0.6
Nitrous oxide	N2O	1.977	263	0.5
Oxygen	O2	1.429	316	0.56
Sulfur dioxide	SO2	2.927	213	0.47
Vapors
Acetone	C3H6O		239	0.32
Benzene	C6H6		202	0.3
Carbon tetrachloride	CCl4		145
Chloroform	CHCl3		171	0.24
Ethanol	C2H6O		269	0.4
Ethyl ether	C4H10O		206	0.3
Methanol	CH4O		335	0.46
Water vapor (134°C)	H2O		494	0.46

Information from CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 7first Edition, 1990-1991, David R. Lide

Human Body Tissues
Substance	Velocity at 25°C (m/s)
Soft Tissues	1540
Brain	1541
Liver	1549
Kidney	1561
Blood	1570
Muscle	1585
Lens of Eye	1620
Skull Bone	4080
Water	1540

Source