Do quieter sounds travel at the same speed but for less distance?
In: 49
Yup. So basically, think of air like a lake. When you make sound, you’re basically dropping a rock into the lake and making ripples. If you drop a small rock into the lake, you’re making pretty small ripples; but if you drop a big rock into the lake, you’re making big ripples. Thing is, no matter how big the rock is, the ripples all move at the same speed – some are just bigger so they last longer before smoothing out.
That’s also why it’s harder to hear quieter things when something loud is happening – when a big ripple hits a little ripple in the lake, the little one is swept up by the big one, and you only end up seeing the big one.
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