Questions about Sound in Space

POSTED BY: BlueBomber
UPDATED: Tuesday, November 30, 2021 06:47
VIEWED: 12723
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Quote:

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Originally posted by BlueBomber:
I love the fact that there are no lasers, phasers, photon torpedo sound FX in this show. But I have a science-related question about that which I've had in my head long before I started watching FF...

There's no sound in space because sound waves require some sort of medium (like air) to travel through. Since space is one big vacuum, there's no air and hence no sound. But how do radio waves travel, then, like in ship-to-ship communication? How is it that, even in today's world, probes like Voyager, Explorer, etc. can send back information and pictures if there's no wave to ride?

I've always wondered about that. Hopefully somebody more educated than I is willing to enlighten me....

"Mwah ha ha ha...mine is an evil laugh. Now die."

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This thread is from before my time here.

I am not certain the OP question was fully answered.

Sound travels at the speed of sound.
It cannot travel in space, a relative vacuum of matter.
Sound is first converted to electrical signal, like for a Stereo system, via microphone.
For us to transmit it through space, we convert it (modulate or Heterodyne) onto an electromagnetic signal.
Electromagnetic energy travels at the speed of light. Much of Electromagnetic energy is Light.
The receiver then must process (demodulate) this signal, pulling it from the carrier signal. Now it is back to the characteristics of a Stereo system.
Then it is converted to sound again, like with a speaker or sound bar.


This process is much like how the computer you are using converts all of the pertinent data into a signal riding on a carrier signal which is traveling via the internet, through a device which MOdulates and DEModulates the signal, called a MODEM. Early versions of Internet were connected via Dial-Up Phone lines.

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