How Does Sound Travel Through Space?

Sound needs something to travel through, like air. In space, there’s almost nothing, just a big empty vacuum. So when astronauts talk in space, their voices don’t go very far because they have no air to help them travel. But if they use a radio or a helmet, the sound can still be heard!

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Examples

A dog barking in the park can be heard from far away because the air carries the sound to your ears.
If you blow up a balloon and let it go, the air inside moves out and makes a whooshing noise, that’s how sound travels through air.
In space, if two astronauts are floating next to each other, they have to use radios or helmets to hear each other because there's no air.

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Categories: Physics · sound,space,waves