Why is space a vacuum?

Answer 1

Space is relatively empty, but it is not a pure vacuum. There are scattered individual or pairs of molecules floating around out there, however, they are so few in number and mass that we call it a vacuum. In some parts of space there are massive clouds of gases and from those massive clouds new stars are forming as we sit here typing and reading this paragraph.

Now, if you are asking the reason why Space is a vacuum like it is, meaning the cause and effect...I don't think that there is a real answer for that. It simply exists in that fashion, and has been here a long, long time. It is not possible to date the age of "nothingness," or trace its origin.

Answer 2

Vacuum Of Space

Answer 3

Is Space A Vacuum

Answer 4

Compared to the air that we breathe, space is a vacuum.

The air that we breathe weighs about a pound per cubic yard (approx one kilo per cubic meter) so it contains many billions of atoms per cubic yard. Space contains only a few atoms per cubic yard (or metre), so it is not quite empty.

The vast majority of the universe is space, so the real question is why is the Earth NOT surrounded by a vacuum? The reason is because the Earth's gravity attracted and held all the atoms that it could while the Earth was forming, and so this process greatly concentrated the atoms of nearly-empty space to form the Earth's atmosphere.

Also you might like to consider that if space was not a vacuum (or nearly so), suppose it was filled with air, a large enough bulk of air has gravity so that bulk would condense into a planet or star. So this space would soon condense out into a myriad of planets and stars until once again, space between the planets and stars was a vacuum.

Answer 5

Most of space in the vacinity of our solar system is not a perfect vacuum. There are cosmic particles and radiation "floating" around at very high speeds from the sun and other sources. However, in all practicality it is a vacuum filled by radiation on average. When you say space you may be talking about the space we occupy, which is obviously not a vacuum. If you are talking about outer space, it is a vacuum because most of the mass in space is pulled to the planets via their gravity. An atom is comprised of 99% open space. The main force holding us together or keeping us from colapsing is the electrical force of repultion or attaction of the particles we are made of.

http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/overview.html

Answer 6

You have two answers that are sort of correct but the real answer is we don't know. The physicists have calculated (based on the motion of galaxies which tells them some things about gravity) that roughly 80% of the matter in the universe is invisible to our best telescopes ("dark" matter). Of course, if the physicists are right about the speed of light being constant in space, then all the information they have about these other galaxies (and therefore, their calculations based on gravity, which is also assumed to be constant everywhere, is rather out of date (the time required for the light to get to earth from some of these galaxies is about on the order of the age of the universe). So... We really do not "know" anything about what is in interstellar or intergalactic space right now. On the other hand, we have no shortage of theories. So... Yes there will be electromagnetic energy zipping around (as waves or photons depending on whether the light is acting like waves or particles) and there will be the odd radioactive particle or atom. I've heard estimates of one atom per cubic mile in the "vacuum of space". There may be the even odder particle of "dust", a fragment of an asteroid or comet or planet or a star, and it would be even more lonesome, maybe one grain of dust is a volume that is one a.u. cubed. hope this helps

Answer 7

Space is not really a vacuum, it is just a literal vacuum. The Earth is not a vacuum, because it has air molecules surrounding it.(our atmosphere). In space, there is "no" air, only random atoms of hydrogen floating around, perhaps one every meter squared. This means that their is no air to carry sound, and microgravity.

Answer 8

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Why is space a vacuum?

Answer 9

in the most simple terms is that it is devoid of air. the reason that this is so important to us is that at any given time we are under 14.7 pounds per square inch of pressure and our bodies are built to handle that and do so well. to do this our bodies continually push out a resistive force of equal pressure. in the vacuum of space there is no pressure (real definition of a vacuum is a space will less or no pressure) and that is severely detrimental to our bodies.

Answer 10

The concept is there is something and nothing. The something comprises our universe of mass and what is outside of it is nothing. No mass, no energy, no heat. Just absolute zero nothing.

When the universe started forming and expanding it pushed out into this nothing and something started expanding and expading often with lots of space or nothing between things.

Some of these somethings have lots of mass and lots of somethings like the Earth and Sun

The area between these things have a little something, but not a lot of something and most of it is nothing, although there is something every fraction of an inch, just not as much something as you find on Earth.

We call this nothing area with a little bit of something space.

Since most of it is nothing (which we call a vaccum) space is primarily a vaccum with a little bit of something here and there.