If you are sitting in a boat or in St. Nicholas, a sound coming
from the north shore will sound louder than the same sound heard
by a person on land. Sound can be amplified when it travels over
water. The reason is that the water cools the air above its
surface, which then slows down the sound waves near the surface.
This causes refraction or bending of the sound wave, such that
more sound reaches the boat passenger or St Nicholas resident.
Sound waves skimming the surface of the water can add to the
amplification effect, if the water is calm. The speed of sound
is the distance travelled during a unit of time by a sound wave
propagating through an elastic medium. In dry air at 68 °F, the
speed of sound is 1,126 ft/s. This is 768 mph, or approximately
one mile in five seconds. However, the speed of sound varies
from substance to substance. Sound travels faster in liquids and
non-porous solids than it does in air. It travels about 4.3
times as fast in water 4868.766 f/s, and nearly 15 times as fast
in iron 16,7