answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

Water and air are both fluids, but water is a lot "thicker" than air. In order to move forward, you need to push the stuff in front of you out the way. It's quite an effort to push a load of heavy water out the way, but air offers very little resistance. It is the viscosity of water that is in the way here, and we're talking about the physics of shear forces in fluids. Water is much more viscous than air, and is much more resistant to shear forces. Yes, water is a liquid, but air is a gas.

If you consider yourself trying to walk in the shallow end of a swimming pool and then walking normally in air, you have an accurate picture of what's going on. The aircraft engine(s) can develop enough trust to really tear through the fluid in which it is operating (which is air). Any "basic" contemporary military submarine probably has much more shaft horsepower than a jet fighter has thrust, but there is no way to get through the water anywhere nearly as quickly. And a submarine is not set up for speed in any case. It must "creep" through the water to avoid making sufficient noise to be detected.

User Avatar

Wiki User

15y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Why can planes travel faster than submarines?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

What machines travel faster than sound?

planes


What name is given to planes which travel faster than sound?

Supersonic plane


Why is it difficult to travel faster than the speed of sound?

It's really fast. 340mps is not slow buddy. Very few planes travel faster than that :D.


Which is faster a plane or bullet?

It strictly depends on which two specific items you are comparing. Bullets travel various speeds, as do airplanes. Some bullets are faster than some planes, and some planes are faster than some bullets.


Does a horse travel faster than a passenger plane?

Of course not! A plane can travel at hundreds of miles an hour. The fastest horse only reaches 55 miles per hour for a very short distance. I mean, really! If horses were faster than planes, than why did we invent planes to travel long distances?


What do sound waves travel faster than?

A lot of stuff. Sound travels at 330 m/s (metres a second), so is faster than cars, planes (well, some...), and even Usain Bolt! However, some planes, and even the whip (so that's what that crackiing noise was! :) can travel faster. Of course, light is much faster!


Why is a plane faster than a boat?

Planes are faster than boats because they can travel through the air, which has less resistance than water. Additionally, planes follow a direct route from point A to point B, while boats may need to navigate around land masses or other obstacles in the water. Lastly, planes can travel at higher speeds due to their propulsion systems, making them more efficient for long-distance travel.


Why do rockets travel faster than planes?

Because they supposed to pass the atmosphere rather than just flying over the entire world.


What plane travels faster than sound?

Supersonic airplanes can travel faster than the speed of sound, which is approximately 767 miles per hour at sea level. Examples of supersonic planes include the Concorde and military jets like the F-16 and F-22.


Why airplans take different times to go or to come from a place?

Some people want to travel during the day, some want to travel at night, some planes travel faster than other planes, some planes fly a short distance, some fly a long distance. Sometimes the weather effects the way planes fly.


Which civil airplane can travel faster than the speed of sound?

They named as ultrasonic planes. They can travel very fast.


Why is flying faster than driving?

Flying is faster because the average speed traveled in a plane is greater than in a car and planes can travel along a straight line distance as opposed to being limited to streets and highways.