Why does really hot water sound muffled or "padded" when it is being poured into a glass while cold water sounds crisp and clear when being poured into a glass?
2007-07-16 08:01:57 · 1 answers · asked by preston 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The reason for this is that the hot water is constantly giving off steam, which is in turn condensing into small water droplets in the air. So, the entire column of hot water is surrounded by tiny water droplets. These droplets are very good at absorbing sound, so much of the noise simply doesn't get through the steam/droplet layer.
A similar system is/was used by NASA. If you watch a video of a Space Shuttle launch, you will see a large amount of water vaporized underneath the rocket engines just before launch. This is to dampen noise, thereby protecting the launch scaffolding.
2007-07-16 08:07:07 · answer #1 · answered by lithiumdeuteride 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋