How long (in seconds) would it take a sound to travel underwater across the San Francisco Bay at its widest point of 19 000 meters?
Speed of sound in sea water depends on the temperature and salinity.
At 25 degrees and 35 ppt salinity, the speed of sound is approximately 1551 m/s.
So divide 19000/1551 to give the time in seconds it takes.
To calculate the time it would take for sound to travel underwater across the San Francisco Bay, we need to know the speed of sound in water. The speed of sound in water is approximately 1,484 meters per second.
To find the time, we can use the formula:
Time = Distance / Speed
In this case, the distance is the width of the San Francisco Bay at its widest point, which is 19,000 meters, and the speed of sound in water is 1,484 meters per second.
Let's substitute the values into the formula:
Time = 19,000 meters / 1,484 meters per second
Calculating this equation, we find:
Time = 12.8 seconds (rounded to one decimal place)
Therefore, it would take approximately 12.8 seconds for sound to travel underwater across the widest point of the San Francisco Bay.