why is that?
2007-01-08 10:07:33 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
And, to go one more step past qwyrx's correct answer..."because that is the way the universe works!"
Wouldn't it be weird, though, if you heard something before you could see it happen? An explosion, for example. It would be sort of like some of the movies on TV where the sound isn't quite matched with the actors, and the voice starts before the actor opens her mouth. It might make a really funny science fiction movie, too.
2007-01-08 10:31:14 · answer #1 · answered by David A 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sound is pressure waves through a medium. The molecules of the air, water or ?? need to move in order to change the pressure. This motion takes time and the time is dependant on the medium.
Light, while kind of (sort of) a wave phenomenon, does not need to move the molecules through which it travels. It moves unimpeded by any requirement for a medium.
2007-01-08 10:41:08 · answer #2 · answered by Holden 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because they are totally different phenomena? Light is a propagation of electromagnetic waves. Sound is the vibration of physical materials. Despite the fact that we link them because, on a sensual level, vision and sight seem related, the two phenomonena really have no fundamental connection.
2007-01-08 10:11:22 · answer #3 · answered by Qwyrx 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's like asking "Are you the opposite sex, or am I?" They just are. They are givens.
The speeds of light and sound are things of the sort that scientists call, "imponderables." No matter how much you try to figure out the reasons, there still are no reasons. It's just the way it is.
2007-01-08 15:19:57 · answer #4 · answered by aviophage 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋