Quote:
Originally Posted by FPSOlkor
sound in denser matter spreads faster, and thus it is harder to catch up
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I used to think this, but I said it elsewhere online, and someone corrected me. In a gas, speed of sound depends solely on temperature. If it was hotter at altitude, then the speed of sound there would be higher. Apparently space near Earth is really hot (as in, the few molecules of gas that there are move very fast), and the speed of sound is very high. Which surprised me, but still it seems that's the scientific consensus.