I’ve heard some explanations before which just sound intuitively wrong – mostly that “higher pressure = higher density = particles closer together = easier propagation of pressure wave”. I don’t like this firstly because water is only negligibly compressible and also because a higher density would surely lead to a lower speed of sound ceteris paribus?
Happy that speed of sound is a function of bulk modulus but can’t wrap my head around why the bulk modulus would be different at different pressures. Thanks for any help!
In: Physics
Speed of sound in water is faster than air due to the density of the “medium” (water vs. air). As you increase depth, pressure increases and makes it denser than water at shallower depths.
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