FASTER TRAVEL

Sound waves travel as air particles and bump into each other as they vibrate, causing other nearby air particles to vibrate too. In water, particles are much closer together, so the vibration energy can be transferred much more quickly. The speed of sound in air is 343 metres per second, while in water it’s around 1,432 metres per second, roughly four-times faster. However, it takes much more energy to start a sound wave in water because the wave needs more energy to force the water particles to move, but this means that sound waves can travel longer distances than in air.