Mersenne first measured sound speed via echoes and speech timing

Evidence

The time it takes for an echo to return from a wall at a known distance could be used to determine the speed of sound. Why didn’t the best scientific minds in the last two thousand years determine the speed of sound using echoes? One problem was the accurate measurement of short intervals of time. But for centuries, it wasn’t clear what actually happened when sound reflected from a surface. Did the surface vibrate in order to send the sound back? Was there a time delay with the sound held at the wall for an interval of time? — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 151 (#responds-to, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Conceptual confusion about sound reflection delayed its speed measurement for centuries — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 151

Related

• Conceptual confusion about sound reflection delayed its speed measurement for centuries (similarity 0.91)
• Sound speed was first measured using a human speaking rate as the clock (similarity 0.90)
• Even Mersenne, who first measured sound speed, rejected simultaneous string modes (similarity 0.83)
• Thirteenth-century physics intuited sound self-amplification through reflection. (similarity 0.80)
• Sound in air travels at one speed for all wavelengths, unlike water waves (similarity 0.79)
• Echo timing is used as an auditory distance cue by the visually impaired (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Conceptual confusion about sound reflection delayed its speed measurement for centuries #responds-to (0.75) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 151