Can Light Travel Through Space Why Or Why Not?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Light travels as a wave. But unlike waves or water waves, it does not need any matter or material to carry its energy along. This means that

light can travel through a vacuum? a completely airless space

.

Can light travel through outer space?


Electromagnetic waves are waves that can travel through matter or through empty space

. spaceship travels faster than the speed of light? In reality, noth- ing travels faster than the speed of light. In empty space, light travels at a speed of about 300,000 km/s.

Does light travel through space or time?

In total, we all move at the total speed of light, c,

through spacetime

, with the speed spread between space and time. We can't go faster than light through space. And we neither can go faster nor slower than light through spacetime.

Can light travel space?

Traveling Through Space

Because light consists of photons, however,

it can travel through space like a stream of tiny particles

. The photons actually travel more quickly through space and lose less energy on the way, because there are no molecules in the way to slow them down.

Why can sound not travel through space?

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

.

Where does light go in space?

However, in the absence of matter,

light travels in a straight line from its source to the receiver

. 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.

How do photons travel through space?

As a photon moves through space,

it exhibits oscillating electric and magnetic fields, and can interact with charged particles

. These interactions slow it down, and cause it to move at a speed less than the speed of light as long as they're in a material.

Can light sound and heat travel through space?


Sound cannot travel through empty space

; it is carried by vibrations in a material, or medium (like air, steel, water, wood, etc). As the particles in the medium vibrate, energy is lost to heat, viscous processes, and molecular motion.

Does light disappear?

Eventually there have been enough reflections that the number of visible photons in the box is zero. So

the photons don't disappear instantly

. But it does happen very quickly, and it is certainly imperceptible to our silly human senses. In this way the light may seem to disappear instantly.

When light strikes matter a part of light is?

However, light behaves in a variety of ways when it comes in contact with water, air, and other matters – it is “absorbed”, “transmitted through”, “reflected”, and “scattered”. When light strikes matter, a part of that light is

absorbed into the matter

(a) and is transformed into heat energy.

Why can't we travel the speed of light?

Nothing can travel faster than 300,000 kilometers per second (186,000 miles per second). Only massless particles, including photons, which make up light, can travel at that speed.

It's impossible to accelerate any material object up to the speed of light because it would take an infinite amount of energy to do so

.

Has NASA recorded sound in space?

The space agency used instruments on several probes (like Voyager and HAWKEYE) to record these waves. Then they put them together into a recording of a sound for all of us to hear. The result is a sound that is (frighteningly) akin to what you would expect to hear echoing as you sink into a black abyss.

Can astronauts hear each other in space?

When astronauts are out in space, they can whistle, talk, or even yell inside their own spacesuit, but

the other astronauts would not hear the noise

. In fact, the middle of space is very quiet. Sound travels in waves, and it moves at different speeds through air or water or other materials.

Can sound be created in space?


No, there isn't sound in space

.

On Earth, sound mainly travels to your ears by way of vibrating air molecules, but in near-empty regions of space there are no (or very, very few) particles to vibrate – so no sound.

How does light from the sun travel?

1 Answer. Light is a form of electro magnetic radiation. So it can travel

in vacuum by radiation

.

Would light travel faster through space or through a window?

Light travels in waves. Would light travel faster through space or through a window?

Light would travel faster through empty space

.

What happens when light from the sun hits the ground?

When sunlight strikes the Earth,

it is mostly reflected or absorbed

. Reflected light bounces back into space while absorbed light is the source of energy that drives processes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

Why is it cold in space if the sun is in space?

Space is cold in the sense that

it's big and empty and any object placed in space can radiate a limitless amount of energy in all directions

, so if there is no sun nearby to warm it up, it will eventually lose almost all its heat and grow very cold indeed—so bring some coffee.

Why is space cold if the sun is hot?

Space is the ultimate thermos


The sun's radiation may travel through it, but there are no molecules or atoms to absorb that heat

. Even when a rock is heated above 100°C by the sun's radiation, the space around it will not absorb any temperature because of the same reason.

Why is space cold if it's closer to the sun?

QUESTION: Why is it colder in space for astronauts than it is on Earth if you are closer to the sun? ANSWER:

The sun transfers energy to objects far away (like us and the earth) by radiation

. Radiation is the energy carried by electromagnetic waves.

Emily Lee
Author
Emily Lee
Emily Lee is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. She’s an accomplished writer with a deep passion for the arts, and brings a unique perspective to the world of entertainment. Emily has written about art, entertainment, and pop culture.