3 ms·

They didn't pack a microphone! Bastards! :P Considering the propensity for dust storms I'm going to say windy. But the atmosphere is thinner, so this makes it

• jcarreiro 14y ago
  > But the atmosphere is thinner, so this makes it harder to > hear? Or quieter? Sound intensity for a plane wave is given by the equation $I = \xi^2 \omega^2 c \rho$. Here $\xi$ is the particle displacement (the amplitude of our wave), $\omega$ is the angular frequency, and $c \rho$, typically called $Z$, is the characteristic acoustic impedance, where $c$ is the speed of sound and $\rho$ is the density of the medium. Given that the speed of sound is roughly independent of pressure, and keeping all other variables equal, as $\rho$ decreases, $I$ also decreases. So yes, on Mars, sounds are much quieter. Sources: http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/672/what-is-the-relation-of-sound-propagation-to-air-pressure http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/672/what-is-the-r... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_intensity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_intensity
  • skeletonjelly 14y ago
    I knew my bait would bring someone smarter than me out of the woodwork! Thanks, very informative. Can I ask what's your background that led you to this?
• InclinedPlane 14y ago
  There was a microphone sent to Mars once, but it was on a lander that crashed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_polar_lander#Scientific_instruments http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_polar_lander#Scientific_in... Edit: Correction, twice, one was also sent on Phoenix but due to a design defect it was not used: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(spacecraft)#Mars_Descent_Imager http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(spacecraft)#Mars_Desce...