How does refraction permit sound to be transmitted in the ocean for thousands of miles?
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kiyarika
ANSWERS: 1
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Sound is a compression wave (which is different than a transverse wave, such as light). The water molecules are closer together than the air molecules, so they have less room to be compressed together, leading to a "tighter" wave that transmits much better than air. "Refraction" means "bending of a wave as it enters a different medium," so unless the sound is going from air into water (or vice versa), refraction isn't really involved. (With light, it's the opposite. The higher an object's index of refraction is, the slower it travels.)
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