The most efficient vacuum that we have ever made on Earth is not nearly as empty as the void of space, apparently.
So just how many atoms are 'floating' around up there in a portion of space? (doesn't have to be a cubic square - whatever is easiest to visualise).
2007-10-17 21:46:29 · 6 answers · asked by Golgi Apparatus 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
So deep interstellar space is a perfect vaccum?
2007-10-17 21:56:20 · update #1
In interstellar space, the density is about one atom per cubic meter. If you are in, say, the Orion nebula, the density is higher: about 10 atoms per cubic centi-meter or about 10^7 atoms per cubic meter. It's interesting to note that even this is much emptier than any vacuum made by humans.
2007-10-18 01:32:00 · answer #1 · answered by mathematician 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It's pretty 'cluttered' around a star. Probably an atom of hydrogen, helium, or some such every cubic cm or so. Interstellar space is a bit thinner. maybe an atom every few hundred meters. But intergalactic space might have only an atom every few km. (All of the above do not hold true inside of a gas cloud that's slowly collapsing to form a new star and/or a solar system)
Doug
2007-10-17 22:50:53 · answer #2 · answered by doug_donaghue 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
theoretically- intergalactic space has on average 1 atom per cubic meter.
in our neck of the woods, you'd probably find more like 3-5 atoms per cubic meter.
2007-10-17 22:07:02 · answer #3 · answered by AlCapone 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋
It's not a perfect vacuum, because vacuums can only come in close systems, and space isn't a closed system.
It's just very low, a bit of googling would do the trick
If it's a perfect vacuum there are virtual particles, and as far as i know those only exist in theory yet...
2007-10-17 22:01:13 · answer #4 · answered by hoo d 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I think its not the atoms alone are in the deep void space. IN the big bang theory and in the first book of Genesis God said 'LET THERE BE LIGHT'. At the great explosion of the bigbang, tremendous amount of light particles from the infrared to the extreme ultra-violet wavelenghts streamed into space. Today this throwing out of these sub-atomic particles are still going on,definitely, sub-atomic particles not likely atoms dominate deep space.
2007-10-18 01:02:17 · answer #5 · answered by Ernsternstein 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
ZERO - it is a vacuum - unless an asteroid or comet happen to pass through.
2007-10-17 21:54:30 · answer #6 · answered by cowboy in scrubs 5 · 0⤊ 8⤋