Ideal Sounds

Synopsis

The speed of sound depends on the medium in which it is moving. A simple experiment is set up to test this statement using several different gases from which is derived the adiabatic equation indicating that speed is proportional to the square root of temperature and inversely proportional to the square root of the density of the medium. This is shown to be consistent with the speed measurements. Looks at the use of sound to measure temperature in a furnace at an electricity generating station. Shows how a novel use of sound enables an observation of temperature changes in the stratosphere and determines temperature variations in a power station furnace with remarkable accuracy. The resulting temperature map allows scientists to determine temperature accurately.

Series

Physics of Matter, The: Course S272

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video; Videocassette. Standard formats. col. 24 min.

Year of production

1986

Availability

OUT OF DISTRIBUTION

Subjects

Physics

Keywords

sound

Credits

Producer

Tony Duggan

Production Company

Name

BBC Open University Productions

Distributor

Name

Open University Worldwide

Web

http://www.ouw.co.uk External site opens in new window

Phone

+44 (0) 1908 274066

Address

Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA

Notes

NB. As of May 2016 Open University Worldwide are no longer distributing DVDs. They have posted this message on their website: ‘Unfortunately Open University Worldwide Limited has decided that product sales are no longer viable given the reduced funding to Higher Education institutions and diminishing demand for the products we have traditionally stocked. At present the Open University Students Association (OUSA) will continue to sell the "Good Study Guide", and we are in discussion with other possible distributors to continue to make The Open University’s products available for purchase. As soon as we have any information on other channels of distribution we will update this notice’. Some products are still available via second hand dealers on Amazon.co.uk