![]() ![]() But although sound can travel through Earth, it can't travel from Earth to Mars because there's essentially no matter (gases, liquids, solids) in between the two planets for it to travel through. There can also be vibrations in matter that's not gaseous: for example, the solid Earth or even the Sun (see the related link below). Maybe if we had an amazingly large and sensitive microphone we could detect these sounds, but to our human ear it would be silent. (They have fewer atoms per cubic foot.) So if a sound wave was traveling through a big gas cloud in space and we were out there listening, only a few atoms per second would impact our eardrum, and we wouldn't be able to hear the sound because our ears aren't sensitive enough. The difference is that interstellar gas clouds are much less dense than the Earth's atmosphere. They're radio, which has to be converted into sound by the astronauts' headsets.īut can't there be vibrations in matter that isn't air? And if there are gases in space, then why can't sounds move through them?Īnswer by Lynn: You're right that there are gases in space, and it's true that these gasses can propagate sound waves just like Earth's air allows sound to travel. The radio waves, again, have no problem in space, but they're not sound. When they are spacewalking, they talk by means of radios in their helmets. In the spacecraft, there is plenty of air, so they just talk normally. Light does not need air to travel, but then you don't hear it you see it, or it is interpreted by your radio set and then translated into sound.Īstronauts in space do talk to each other. Now, like you've said, there are indeed light waves and radio waves in space, but these waves are not sound, but light. In empty space, there is no air, and what we call "sound" is actually vibrations in the air. Could you please clear us up on this argument.Īnswer by Dave: I'm afraid that your friends are right. I argued that there has to be air out there and that even if there was no air, there would still be sound because things like radio waves and light waves travel through space. I found it hard to believe either of those claims. For instance if someone were talking to you, you couldn't hear what they were saying. ![]() They say that there is no sound in space and that it is because there is no air in space. A few friends and I are currently in debate about space.
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