The speed of sound in a gas is given by $v = \sqrt{\gamma P/\rho}$. What is the value of $\gamma$ fo

Question

The speed of sound in a gas is given by $v = \sqrt{\gamma P/\rho}$. What is the value of $\gamma$ for air as used in Laplace's correction to accurately predict the speed of sound?

Professor PC Thomas Classes · Answer

Air is primarily composed of diatomic gases (nitrogen and oxygen). For diatomic gases, the ratio of specific heats $\gamma = C_p / C_v$ is 7/5.