Sound velocity, more rigorously termed the speed of sound, is the phase velocity at which small-amplitude mechanical disturbances propagate through a medium and is determined by the medium’s elastic and inertial properties. In a homogeneous, isotropic medium, it is given by \(c = \sqrt{K/\rho}\) for fluids, where \(K\) is the bulk modulus and \(\rho\) the mass density, or by \(c = \sqrt{(K + 4G/3)/\rho}\) for longitudinal waves in solids, with \(G\) the shear modulus. Sound velocity is frequency-independent in the linear, non-dispersive regime but can exhibit dispersion in complex or structured materials.
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