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Old 17th January 2012 | 13:57
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24Carrot
 
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: London UK
The speed of sound in air depends only on temperature, and it is pretty much the square root of the absolute temperature (degrees C + 273).

So you can construct a formula which will be some constant in knots times the square root of T+273.

I did this for my exams and I think it was 40 x sqrt(T+273), giving 661 knots at zero C.

Edited to add the answer:
0.4 x 40 x sqrt(273-15) = 257 knots so I would go for 250 kts.

Edited again:
I checked my notes and it was 39, not 40, giving 661 kts at 15C,

and so the answer to your question is:
0.4 x 39 x sqrt(273-15) = 250 kts.

Last edited by 24Carrot; 17th January 2012 at 14:14.
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