Text: The velocity of sound in solids is given by the first formula to the left where m is the shear modulus or rigidity of the solid and p is pressure. For the case of compressional waves in long narrow rods the first equation must be replaced by the second equation where Y is Young's modulus. For a large number of solids the former velocity is greater than the latter by roughly 10 per cent. It is interesting to note that the velocity of transverse waves (i.e., flexural or torsional) in a solid is given by the third equation, which is less than the value of the first equation for any given solid under the same conditions.

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