ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Acoustic transmission

Okay, so imagine you're sitting in a big room with your friend. If you want to talk to them, you have to raise your voice a little bit so they can hear you from far away. That's because sound waves, which make up the sound of your voice, need to travel through the air in the room to reach your friend's ears.

Acoustic transmission is when sound waves travel from one place to another. It can happen through different materials like air, water, or even solid things like walls and floors.

When you talk or make a noise, the sound waves start to vibrate in the air around you. These vibrations then move through the air molecules, creating a chain reaction that eventually reaches your friend's ears. This is called acoustic transmission through air.

But if you've ever been swimming and someone talks to you from outside the pool, you might notice that their voice sounds muffled or different underwater. That's because sound waves travel differently through water than they do through air.

In water, sound waves travel faster and farther, but they also lose energy faster. So, if you're trying to talk to someone underwater, you might need to be closer to them and speak more slowly so they can hear you clearly.

Overall, acoustic transmission is all about how sound waves move through different materials to reach our ears. Even though we might not think about it much, it's really important for communication and understanding the world around us!