Profile,
The original equation posted by sstearns2 is correct. The "R" in the equation is the gas constant for that particular substance. You are thinking of the Universal Gas Constant, denoted by an "R" with a bar above it. The equation is "
R = R(bar)/molecular weight
a= ((gamma)*R*T)^1/2 is the correct equation for the speed of sound in a gas
For practical applications of Aerospace engineering, gamma is equal to 1.4 unless high-speed aerodynamics is being studied (such as flow around the shuttle during re-entry) where ionization changes the molecular characteristic significantly.
SuperD
The original equation posted by sstearns2 is correct. The "R" in the equation is the gas constant for that particular substance. You are thinking of the Universal Gas Constant, denoted by an "R" with a bar above it. The equation is "
R = R(bar)/molecular weight
a= ((gamma)*R*T)^1/2 is the correct equation for the speed of sound in a gas
For practical applications of Aerospace engineering, gamma is equal to 1.4 unless high-speed aerodynamics is being studied (such as flow around the shuttle during re-entry) where ionization changes the molecular characteristic significantly.
SuperD
