Does sound travel faster in space? (2024)

Category: Space Published: February 14, 2013

Sound does not travel at all in space. The vacuum of outer space has essentially zero air. Because sound is just vibrating air, space has no air to vibrate and therefore no sound. If you are sitting in a space ship and another space ship explodes, you would hear nothing. Exploding bombs, crashing asteroids, supernovas, and burning planets would similarly be silent in space. In a space ship, you could of course hear the other passengers because your ship is filled with air. Additionally, a living human will always be able to hear himself talk, breath, and circulate blood, because the air in his space suit which sustains his life also transmits sound. But two astronauts in space suits floating around in space will not be able to talk to each other directly no matter how hard they yell, even if they are only inches away. Their inability to talk directly is not caused by their helmets getting in the way, but is rather caused by the vacuum of space not carrying sound at all. That is why space suits are equipped with two-way radio communicators. Radio is a form of electromagnetic radiation just like light and can therefore travel through the vacuum of space just fine. The astronaut's transmitter converts the sound waveform to a radio waveform and sends the radio waves through space to the other astronaut, where is it converted back to sound for the other human to hear. I suspect the entertainment industry portrays this principle incorrectly on purpose for dramatic effect. A silent exploding space ship is not as dramatic as a booming one.

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Topics: air, sound, sound in space, space movie, speed of sound, vacuum

Does sound travel faster in space? (2024)

FAQs

Does sound travel faster in space? ›

Sound does not travel at all in space. The vacuum of outer space

outer space
Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the near-vacuum between celestial bodies. It is where all of the planets, stars, galaxies and objects are found. It is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere.
https://simple.wikipedia.org › wiki › Outer_space
has essentially zero air. Because sound is just vibrating air, space has no air to vibrate and therefore no sound.

Can you hear noise in space? ›

No, you cannot hear any sounds in near-empty regions of space. Sound travels through the vibration of atoms and molecules in a medium (such as air or water). In space, where there is no air, sound has no way to travel.

Why is space silent? ›

Space is a vacuum

Sound is carried by atoms and molecules. In space, with no atoms or molecules to carry a sound wave, there's no sound. There's nothing to get in sound's way out in space, but there's nothing to carry it, so it doesn't travel at all. No sound also means no echo.

Where does sound travel fastest in space? ›

As a rule sound travels slowest through gases, faster through liquids, and fastest through solids.

Does sound travel faster on the moon or Earth? ›

Therefore, if you shout on the moon, the sound waves will travel slower than on earth.

What does space smell like? ›

During the Apollo moon landings, the astronauts described the scent as gunpowder-like, while those who went to the international space station (ISS) compared it to burnt steak.

What is the loudest sound in space? ›

One of the most powerful sounds in the universe is caused by black holes colliding. When two massive black holes merge, they produce a gravitational wave that can generate sound waves with intensities reaching up to 1100 decibels.

Is space completely dark? ›

One astronomer attempted to answer how dark space is by collating the brightnesses of known stars and galaxies, and in the answer converges at a visual magnitude of –6.5, or 0.3% as bright as a full Moon.

Is space dark or bright? ›

In space or on the Moon there is no atmosphere to scatter light. The light from the sun travels a straight line without scattering and all the colors stay together. Looking toward the sun we thus see a brilliant white light while looking away we would see only the darkness of empty space.

Why is space black? ›

Because space is a near-perfect vacuum — meaning it has exceedingly few particles — there's virtually nothing in the space between stars and planets to scatter light to our eyes. And with no light reaching the eyes, they see black.

How fast is light in mph? ›

670,616,629 mph

Do black holes make sound? ›

But while black holes produce no sound of their own, they can generate sound waves in their environment.

How loud would the sun be on Earth? ›

After some calculations, he explained that the Sun would theoretically blare out a noise of around 100 decibels, almost as loud as standing next to a speaker at a rock concert or busy nightclub. That's pretty remarkable when you consider the Sun is 150 million kilometers (over 93,000,000 miles) away from us.

Is there air in space? ›

Higher than 400 km above the ground, where the International Space Station (ISS) is flying, there is almost no air. This state where no air exists is called a vacuum. Space is a vacuum. Generally, altitudes of 100 km or above are considered outer space.

Why sound Cannot travel in a vacuum? ›

Sound is a mechanical wave, so to propagate it, some material or medium is required. We know a vacuum is an empty space where no matter particles are present. Sound cannot travel through a vacuum as there are no particles present for vibrations to take place.

Can sound exist in a vacuum? ›

Because space is a vacuum nearly devoid of particles, sound can't travel through its vast emptiness. However, scientists from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland have successfully “tunneled” sound through such a vacuum via an electromagnetic effect.

Can astronauts hear themselves in space? ›

Sound waves can travel only through matter. Since there's almost no matter in interstellar space, sound can't travel through it.

Is space loud or silent? ›

Well, you're not going to need ear-defenders, put it that way! The simple answer here, of course, is yes: space is silent because it's a vacuum.

What noise is in space? ›

In deep space, the large empty areas between stars and planets, there are no molecules to vibrate. There is no sound there.

Can you hear a scream in space? ›

Sound is a mecanical wave, which means that it needs substance to travel through, such as air or water. In space, there is no air, so sound has nothing to travel through. If someone were to scream in space, the sound wouldn't even leave their mouths.

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