Piston effect platforms with a single tunnel, however, air quality worsens when relying on the piston effect alone for ventilation. This still allows for potential energy savings by taking advantage of the piston effect rather than mechanical ventilation where possible. Tunnel boom is a loud boom sometimes generated by high-speed trains when they exit tunnels. These shock waves can disturb nearby residents and damage trains and nearby structures. The perception of this sound by humans is similar to that of a sonic boom from supersonic aircraft, but unlike a sonic boom, tunnel boom is not caused by trains exceeding the speed of
Speed of sound waves; see optical dispersion for a description. The speed of sound is variable and depends on the properties of the substance through which the wave is travelling. In solids, the speed of transverse (or shear) waves depends on the shear deformation under shear stress (called the shear modulus), and the density of the medium. Longitudinal (or compression) waves in solids depend on the same two factors with the addition of a dependence on compressibility. In fluids, only the medium's compressibility and density are the important factors, since fluids do not transmit shear stresses. In heterogeneous fluids, such as a liquid