About this tool
Speed of Sound Calculator is a free, in-browser tool that finds how fast sound travels through a medium. For air it uses the temperature you enter (°C or °F); for water and steel it uses standard reference speeds. Results appear in metres per second, feet per second, miles per hour and kilometres per hour. Everything is computed locally — nothing is uploaded.
In air the speed is v = 331.3 · √(1 + T ÷ 273.15) m/s, where T is the temperature in degrees Celsius; the tool also shows the common linear approximation v ≈ 331.3 + 0.606·T so you can see the two agree closely near room temperature. Water is taken as about 1481 m/s and steel about 5960 m/s, both far faster than air because they are much stiffer. The km/h figure is the everyday value of Mach 1 — the speed an object must reach to break the sound barrier at that condition.
Use it to estimate echo and lightning-distance timing, tune acoustics, or check Mach references. Warmer air carries sound faster, which is why the value climbs steadily as you raise the temperature.