I was watching an XKCD “What-If” video recently and Randal off-handedly mentions the title fact as a given. Upon a further Google search I see explanations about why sound moves faster in liquids than gasses but nothing for my specific question. Is there an intuitive explanation for that fact or is it just one of those weird observable facts with no clear explanation

  • Successful_Try543@feddit.org
    6·
    2 days ago

    “Liquid/fluid” and “gas” don’t necessarily mean the same thing scientifically as they do colloquially, they’re actually very close to the same thing.

    Both, liquids and gases, are fluids. The main difference is that liquid phases have a free surface, e.g. the level of water in a glas, whereas gases don’t. Their surface is equal to the surface of their compartment.