Do radio signals decay when it travel in the outer space (medium is vacuum)?

Question

does it continuously travel in the space?

i am really interested in finding out the answers.

Answer 1

It weakens by an inverse square law. It would not decay in a pure vacuum, but in space the interstellar media can absorb the radiation.

Answer 2

All electro-magnetic (EM) forces diminish inversely to the square of the distance from the source of the force. For example, Coulomb's relationship F = kqq/R^2 shows that the force between two EM sources, the q's, lessens by the inverse of the square of the distance, R, between the two sources. Coulomb's Law is a simplistic model, but it serves as the basis for the more complex Maxwell's Equations and radio waves.

The 1/R^2 results because the surface density of a sphere decreases as the inverse of the square of the radius of the sphere. And EM waves, like radio, radar, and gamma waves, propogate outward from their sources like a sphere.

The surface density is important because the force an EM wave has at any given point in space depends on the so-called force field. I like to think of a force field at any given distance R as a thin cover of tiny little force vectors on the surface of the propogation sphere. And it's these vectors that thin out as the surface area increases. That is, the number of little force vectors is constant, depending on the source, but their density decreases as 1/R^2; so the sum total force (which is the sum of all these tiny force vectors) in some area of surface decreases by that amount when R is increased. Let's see where 1/R^2 comes from.

The surface of a sphere is A = 4 pi R^2. [See source.] If D = the number of field vectors emitted by a source, then d = D/A is the surface density of the field. Define d = D/(4 pi R^2) and d' = D/(4 pi r^2), which are respective field densities at R and r. Now suppose r = 2R, that is the field density d' is at a radius twice that of R, which has a filed density of d. Thus we can write a ratio d'/d = D/(4 pi r^2)//D/(4 pi R^2) = R^2/r^2 = R^2/4R^2 = 1/4 and d' = d/4.

And there we have it. Field density d' at r = 2R is 1/4 the density d at R. And that's the inverse R^2 relationship.

Answer 3

The answer to your question is that radio signals DO decay in outer space, this is because of signal attenuation through sheer volume that comes from the huge distances involved. Also, there is alot of debris (rotating around the earth) and satellites, and planetary bodies, and celestial bodies, that would seriously dampen a radio signals ability to continue outward unimpeded. At this distance, one must take into account the electromagnetic fields that are created by the various "spacial bodies"

Answer 4

Radio waves do not decay in outer space. We are still in communication with the Voyager space craft that left the solar system almost 15 years ago. It's radio is equivalent to an in car CB radio. Eventually the signals become part of the background noise of the universe, but their still there

Answer 5

Well , you should pay attention that just math who makes obstacle are decay the signal.
in outer space if you say -medium is vacuum- there is no material to dam the signal and it travel with no decay and reduction. but it's way may change by gravity of other planets . stars and ... .

Answer 6

as it travels away from the source, it does so like a big balloon expanding. as the area the radio waves cover expands, the energy has to cover more space (because the balloon is getting bigger) and so it does get weaker.

Answer 7

No, they travel unimpeded.