Here's why:
* Hearing is about vibrations: Our ears are designed to detect vibrations in the air. These vibrations are what we perceive as sound.
* Solids vibrate differently: While sound travels faster through solids, the vibrations are much more localized. They don't travel as far and are less likely to reach our ears.
* We hear sounds from solids indirectly: Most of the time, we hear sounds from solids when they cause vibrations in the air around them. For example:
* Knocking on a door: The impact of your hand creates vibrations in the door, which in turn cause vibrations in the air that reach your ears.
* Playing a musical instrument: The strings or other parts of the instrument vibrate, causing air vibrations that we hear.
* Someone talking: The vocal cords vibrate, causing air vibrations that reach our ears.
In summary, we hear sounds from solids because they cause vibrations in the air around them, and it's those air vibrations that our ears pick up.
