What materials can sound not travel through?
Ethan Hayes
Updated on April 19, 2026
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Likewise, people ask, what materials can sound travel through?
Sound waves need to travel through a medium such as solids, liquids and gases. The sound waves move through each of these mediums by vibrating the molecules in the matter. The molecules in solids are packed very tightly. Liquids are not packed as tightly.
Also, can sound waves travel through wood? The ripple is the sound wave. Sound waves travel through air at 767 miles per hour. Sound travels even faster through solids because the molecules in solids are more tightly packed together than they are in air. For example, sound travels at 8,859 miles per hour through wood.
Thereof, can sound travel through a vacuum?
Sound can leap across a vacuum after all. Sound waves are travelling vibrations of particles in media such as air, water or metal. So it stands to reason that they cannot travel through empty space, where there are no atoms or molecules to vibrate.
How do sound waves travel through air?
Sound travels in air as a series of compressions and rarefactions. When an object vibrates it will move back and forth. As it moves forth, it pushes adjacent air particles. Adjacent air particles push particles adjacent to them and so on.
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