Since the velocity is defined as the time-rate of change of position, the slope of this plot should give the velocity. That puts this wave speed at 2.85 m/s, which is pretty close to the theoretical prediction. I’m happy with that.
But what if I want to look at the speed of a wave in a giant metal chain, instead of a string of beads? I actually don’t have one of these things lying around—and I probably couldn’t move it anyway. So let’s build a computational model.
Here’s my idea: I’m going to let the chain be made of a bunch of point masses connected by springs, like this: