- The fastest possible speed of sound (vᵤ) in condensed matter has been derived from fundamental physical constants. Expressed in terms of the fine structure constant (α), the proton-to-electron mass ratio (mₚ/mₑ), and the speed of light (c): vᵤ = αc(2mₚ/mₑ)^(-½) ≈ 36.1 km/s https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/41/eabc8662 12 comments science