I don't understand what happens in reality (outside of wave theories). If I clap my hands I invest energy in the nearby air molecules, which move and transfer their energy to nearby molecules which move...and so on. Why then, when I clap louder instead of investing more energy in the same particles making them move faster I simply involve more of them? Or am I wrong? If I'm not, then what if I clap louder in a vacuum with limited air in it?
Thank you.