During a strong acoustic shock

PHYSICS · Subjective · A Level · Physics · Waves · Waves

Problem

During a strong acoustic shock, the pressure in a region of air briefly rises to 5.0 atm5.0\,\text{atm}. Predict qualitatively how accounting for air’s compressibility, rather than treating it as incompressible, affects the calculated speed at which the disturbance propagates. Provide one sentence of reasoning.

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