Why does light travel through space but sound does not?

Light has an oscillation within itself, but it is not oscillation of something else, as sound is. Thus sound cannot pass through space, in which there is no matter, but light can, because light carries its own substance with it as it traverses.

How does light travel differently from sound?

Light waves travel much faster than sound waves. Light waves do not need a medium in which to travel but sound waves do. Explain that unlike sound, light waves travel fastest through a vacuum and air, and slower through other materials such as glass or water.

Why does light travel through some objects and not others?

Opaque materials do not allow transmission of light waves. In other words, we can’t see through an opaque object. We can only see the surface because the light waves are re-emitted from the surface back to our eyes. Opacity occurs because of the reflection of light waves off the surface of an object.

Why does light travel through 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.

Can light pass through objects?

Light passes through objects in different ways. Materials can be grouped according to how they allow light to penetrate them. Some objects allow light to penetrate it undistorted, and you can clearly see images through it. These objects are called transparent.

What happens to light that is not reflected from or transmitted through an object?

Absorption of light When waves are absorbed by a surface, the energy of the wave is transferred to the particles in the surface. This will usually increase the internal energy of the particles. When white light shines on an opaque object, some wavelengths or colours of light are absorbed.

Does sound travel through photons?

Radio waves can be converted into sound, and sound also travels in waves, but sound waves are not composed of photons. Sound cannot therefore travel through space, where there are no particles to create a sound wave; radio waves can, because they are composed of photons.

Does sound travel further than light?

The speed of sound through air is about 340 meters per second. It’s faster through water and it’s even faster through steel. Light will travel through a vacuum at 300 million meters per second. No information can propagate faster than the speed of light.

What happens to sound waves when they 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. So, the sound wave gets smaller and smaller until it disappears.

Why can light pass through but not sound?

Also i feel the question should be reversed, i.e. light can pass, but sound cannot pass. Well reason for this is because of medium of propagation. It can get attenuation very easily compared to light as light is electromagnetic wave , whereas sound is longitudinal waves oscillating in the medium of particles..

How does light travel through materials?

However, light can also travel within some materials, like glass and water. In this case, some light is absorbed and lost as heat, just like sound. So, underwater, or in our atmosphere, light will only travel some finite range (which is different depending on the properties of the material it travels through).

Why do sound waves attenuate more than light waves?

Well reason for this is because of medium of propagation. It can get attenuation very easily compared to light as light is electromagnetic wave , whereas sound is longitudinal waves oscillating in the medium of particles.. Why do transparent objects let light pass through but opaque objects don’t?