Two person, A and B, each holding one end of a long solid rod. Now person A pushes the rod on one end. Question: Is it correct that the information that the rod has been pushed will travel to the other end at the speed of light whereas the actual 'push' will travel at the speed of sound in the rod?

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2022-08-17

Two person, A and B, each holding one end of a long solid rod.
Now person A pushes the rod on one end.
Question: Is it correct that the information that the rod has been pushed will travel to the other end at the speed of light whereas the actual 'push' will travel at the speed of sound in the rod?

Answer & Explanation

Kaitlynn Church

Kaitlynn Church

Beginner2022-08-18Added 19 answers

Disturbances always travel at the speed of sound in the medium. The wave equation is usually solved with
u ( x , t ) = U sin ( ω t ± ω x c )
where c is the speed of sound and f = ω 2 π is the frequency of the disturbance.

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