How fast does sound travel through Cheddar?
Ultrasonic velocity in Cheddar cheese as affected by temperature
Food scientists measured how fast sound travels through Cheddar, and how that changes as the cheese warms up.
Ig Nobel 2006
The team sent pulses of ultrasound through blocks of Cheddar cheese at different temperatures and timed how quickly the sound got from one side to the other.
Sound slowed down as the cheese got warmer, mostly because the fat inside starts to melt. The dream: one day checking a cheese’s ripeness by listening to it, no nibbling required.
Somewhere, a cheese is being serenaded for science.