SAR!
Skipped the first question.
Sound travels through anything except vacuum. When you shake a coconut vibrations created will cause sound and the sound passes through the shell and coir and to your ear.
Brine/Glycol are not generally called as refrigerants. They are cooling media. If your application is above 5 deg.C use soft water as cooling medium rather brine for specific heat of water is higher than any brine. (Note: freons are called refrigerants for example)
Regards,