Sound information propagates slower than average molecular speed

Evidence

Air molecules are usually not traveling directly along the path of the sound wave; the information that there is higher or lower pressure somewhere propagates no faster than the average speed of molecules along a given direction. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 49

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies that sound propagation is pressure-information transfer through molecular collisions, not molecules traveling the sound path.