2006-11-14 16:58:21 · 13 answers · asked by Kain 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Thank you so much for taking the time out to answer guys..
2006-11-14 17:11:51 · update #1
The question asks nothing about the speed of sound in air compared with water. I believe that the answer is that sound will travel farther through air than water.
My reasoning is as follows:
Sound is a compression wave and its propagation is based upon atoms and/or molecues "bumping into" each-other in order to convey the energy of the sound. Now, with each collision between atoms/molecules, some energy is lost due to heat, so the more collisions there are (eg water), the more energy is lost. The fewer collisions there are (eg air) the less energy is lost. Of course, as everyone has pointed out, water is more dense than air, so there are more collisions per metre in water than in air, and so more energy loss per metre in water than in air.
Therefore sound will travel farther in air than in water.
Another way to look at it is by taking it to the extreme. Let us imagine for a moment that there is a lonely molecule in outer space and we "bump" it with a spaceship. It will travel through space unimpeded, carrying that energy until it finds another molecule to bump into, maybe millions of kilometres away. So, that energy the spaceship imparted onto that molecule has travelled millions of kilometres. We can't hear a single molecule hitting our eardrums, but the effect is the same.
Anyway, I hope that analogy helps.
2006-11-14 19:17:22 · answer #1 · answered by Mez 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The speed of sound is higher in water. Sound is a wave, and a wave carries energy. This energy is passed when particles move. In water, which is more dense than air, the particle pass this energy much more quickly than in air (since there are more particles per unit volume). Thus, sound will travel faster in water than in air for the same amount of time.
2006-11-14 17:10:00 · answer #2 · answered by donteatflowers 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
you asked about "farther"
well it will travel in air.
it may be slower in air due to the fac tthe this medium is not so dense but imagiine that the aire consumes the least energy for the propagation. if the wave it to travel say 100ft, it will take more itme for air to do so but it will not attenuate is so much.
more dense medium attenute the signal more therefore although they make travle more auickly they result in a smaller distance of propagation.
2006-11-14 17:53:03 · answer #3 · answered by Emmanuel P 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
As mentioned by others, air is compressible, but water is not. The key here is that compressibility implies compressional heating and cooling and the irreversible losses that go with that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_speed
Therefore, sound energy is dissipated by the compressibility of the air that it's travelling through, hence loses strength rapidly. You can think of it as a form of damping.
It's well known that whale songs can be detected hundreds of miles from their source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_song
2006-11-14 17:25:17 · answer #4 · answered by arbiter007 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Water is denser than air.
Sound travels at approximately 1200 feet/second through air, 4800 feet/second through water. The factors that affect the density of water, hence the speed of sound through water are temperature, salinity (salt content), and pressure (TSP).
2006-11-14 17:12:48 · answer #5 · answered by vanman2u 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
a phantom energy exists in water,this energy is re compressed by bacterial signaling that causes vibration channeling,which helps to ensure directional reception at further distances than in air.proof...take two hollow balls of steel,create a vacuum in one and not the other cause a similar vibration to occur in each distance test ,this will show the DNA PHANTOM signal.also see..DR.Poppin's intelligent bacteria.discovered in 92,revealed in 97', and abused since then by the military and not for the peace of the planet itself.
2006-11-14 19:43:06 · answer #6 · answered by stratoframe 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As far as i have heard speed of sound doesn't depend upon density of the substance rather it depends upon the temperature of the substance. so if air and water is kept at the same temperature then i think the speed of sound will be same.
2006-11-14 23:33:35 · answer #7 · answered by Napster 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it travels faster in water because the molecules are nearer to each other than in the air...
unlike lightwaves, sound waves need a medium..
2006-11-14 18:17:15 · answer #8 · answered by akoaypilipino 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
farther through water, because liquids are much less compressible than air, so they distort the sound waves less
2006-11-14 17:05:42 · answer #9 · answered by C_Millionaire 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Through water... because it is more dense and hence more molecules to carry the wave.
2006-11-14 17:00:13 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋