Does light make sound as it moves?

Question

If you shot a laser pointer into space would the light from the beam make any sound and if so how could you hear it?

Answer 1

To make a sound, the light would have to make some matter vibrate. Vibrating matter is an essential characteristic of sound.

While traveling through space, the laser can't make anything vibrate because there's no matter.

Once the beam finally ran into some matter, it could potentially make it vibrate. That's how microwave ovens work.

However, there are still two problems: (1) The frequency of visible light is just too fast to set molecules vibrating; and (2) even if the light could vibrate the molecules, the frequency of the vibration would be much, much too high for our ears to detect.

Now, interestingly enough, _gravity_ waves potentially _could_ make a sound that our ears would detect. See the July issue of Scientific American for more info.

Answer 2

Actually there is sound, of sorts, on the Sun. The source of light/heat on the Sun is nuclear fusion, like millions of H-bombs continually going off. And the Sun has an atmosphere of sorts as well; so these exploding bombs do produce compression waves like sound waves.

But, and this is a BIG BUT, the light itself is not creating these waves. But it is the heat and consequent expansion of the surrounding atmosphere on the Sun that does it. If she could survive the intense gravity and heat, an astronaut on the Sun would be deafened by the sound.

As most answers put it, there is no sound in the vacuum of space. But a laser can create a lot of sound in air or other gases. Coherent light, which is what a laser is, packs a lot of energy and that light energy converts to heat energy along the path of the beam. And, like on the Sun, heat causes the ambient air to expand and create compression waves, which we hear as sound if the frequency is in hearing range.

Laser light also has impulse. When a powerful laser light hits a solid, it's like hitting that solid with a hammer...a light hammer. And that, like a real hammer, can be heard as well. In fact, laser light can punch holes in things, not by the heat, but by the impact.

Answer 3

No, light makes no noise by itself, or the sun would constantly be making noise, or everytime you turned on a light it would boom. Lightning makes noise because the electricity cuts a hole in the air and the air rushes back into the hole creating thunder. Light will keep going forever unless it hits something like a wall or the atmosphere, which is why stars are visible from billions and billions of miles away because nothing stops the light until the atmosphere.


Also, there is no sound in space.

Actually light does make some noise but the waves are not ones humans can hear.

Answer 4

Light does not make any sound, unless the light is absorbed by a material, which heats up rapidly enough to expand, causing a pressure (sound) wave. However, in this case, you would say the expanding material caused the sound, not the light.

Additionally, there is nothing in space which can transmit sound, so it is perfectly silent. Two asteroids could collide 10 feet in front of you, and you wouldn't hear a thing.

Answer 5

"Sound" only can happen in air (or some other medium). It cannot happen in space (no medium.)

Sound is vibration within air, and light has no interaction with air, so it cannot impart any energy to air. If no energy is imparted, then there can be no effect (sound).

Ron.

Answer 6

Shooting anything into space wouldn't make a sound, can't have sound in a vacuum.

Answer 7

it makes infrasonic sound below 4o hz. u will need amplifiers to hear them