I was watching an XKCD “What-If” video recently and Randal off-handedly mentions the title fact as a given. Upon a further Google search I see explanations about why sound moves faster in liquids than gasses but nothing for my specific question. Is there an intuitive explanation for that fact or is it just one of those weird observable facts with no clear explanation

  • Little_mouse@lemmy.ca
    7·
    2 months ago

    Sound is transferred through a medium literally as a wave. When you get right down to the core of it, the wave requires movement within the medium to transmit.

    So it might help to conceptualize it not as “Liquid cannot move faster than the speed of sound in it’s medium” but more like “The speed of sound in a liquid medium is defined by the speed at which energy can propagate in that system, which includes motion.”

    • makeshiftreaper@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      So you’re saying I should view the speed of sound in a medium like the speed of light in a vacuum? That it’s the “speed-limit” of how a wave propagates and so trying to exceed it is impossible for a physical wave?