experiment to show that sound doesn't travel in a vacuum

Turns out you can transmit sound in a vacuum, just not very far

For the first time, researchers were able to transmit, or "tunnel," sound waves across extremely small distances between two crystals in a vacuum.

For the first time, scientists have shown that sound can travel through the emptiness of a vacuum. However, the rule-breaking trick requires specific circumstances and can only be carried out over extremely small distances.

The iconic tagline of the 1979 sci-fi film "Alien" tells us that "in space no one can hear you scream." This was based on the fact that space is a vacuum, a region devoid of any particles. Sound waves travel by vibrating through the particles of a medium, such as air or water, from a source to a receiver. So in a vacuum, there is no travel medium. (Outer space is not actually a total vacuum because it does contain small amounts of gas, plasma and other particles. But this matter is surrounded by vast swathes of emptiness.)

But in a new study, published July 14 in the journal Communications Physics , researchers showed that sound can move through a vacuum. Unfortunately for space explorers being hunted by aliens, this does not extend to human screams.

In the new experiment, researchers transmitted, or "tunneled," sound waves across a vacuum between two zinc oxide crystals by transforming the vibrating waves into ripples within an electric field between the objects.

Related: Eerie sounds triggered by plasma waves hitting Earth's magnetic field captured in new NASA sound clip

A zinc oxide crystal is a piezoelectric material, which means that when force or heat is applied to it, the material produces an electrical charge. Therefore, when sound is applied to one of these crystals, it creates an electrical charge that disrupts nearby electric fields. If the crystal shares an electric field with another crystal, then the magnetic disruption can travel from one to the other across a vacuum. The disruptions mirror the frequency of the sound waves, so the receiving crystal can turn the disruption back into a sound on the other side of the vacuum.

However, the disruptions cannot travel a distance greater than the wavelength of a single sound wave. In theory, this works with any sound no matter how small the wavelength of that sound is, as long as the gap between the crystals is small enough. 

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The method is not always reliable. In a large percentage of the experiments, the sound was not perfectly transmitted between the two crystals: parts of the wave were warped, or reflected, as it passed through the electric field, the researchers found. However, occasionally the piezoelectric crystals perfectly transmitted the entire sound wave.

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"In most cases the effect [sound transmitted] is small, but we also found situations, where the full energy of the wave jumps across the vacuum with 100 % efficiency, without any reflections," study co-author Ilari Maasilta , a material physicist at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, said in a statement .

The finding could one day help develop microelectromechanical components, like those found in smartphones and other technology, the researchers said. 

Harry is a U.K.-based senior staff writer at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to become a journalist. He covers a wide range of topics including space exploration, planetary science, space weather, climate change, animal behavior, evolution and paleontology. His feature on the upcoming solar maximum was shortlisted in the "top scoop" category at the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Awards for Excellence in 2023. 

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For the First Time, Scientists Have Tunneled Sound Through a Vacuum

Wait ... how is that possible?

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• Because space is a vacuum nearly devoid of particles, sound can’t travel through its vast emptiness.
• However, scientists from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland have successfully “tunneled” sound through such a vacuum via an electromagnetic effect.
• Although this experiment seems to flout the idea of space’s silent nature, this “tunneling” can only occur over extremely small distances.

It’s a brilliant tagline for a horror film set in space , as this inaudible concept is both terrifying and scientifically true. Sound waves (also known as “acoustic phonons”) require particles to travel— whether through air, water, or some other medium —and the vacuum of space doesn’t have nearly enough particles to transmit sound. In other words, it’s the perfect hunting grounds for an acid-spewing, human-hungry xenomorph.

However, Alien ’s macabre motto now comes with an asterisk. Scientists from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland successfully “ tunneled ” sound through a vacuum gap between two solids—specifically, two zinc oxide crystals.

“[Sound waves] do not exist in vacuum, leading to the initial conclusion that it is impossible for the vacuum to transmit the energy of an acoustic wave between two separated media,” the researchers write in a study published this week in the journal Communications Physics . “However, at the atomic scale the vibrations of the nuclei can propagate via their electrical interactions through vacuum . Thus, a question can be raised, whether acoustic phonons can also be transmitted across larger than atomic scale vacuum gaps through some electromagnetic mechanism.”

These crystals are both piezoelectric, meaning that they produce electricity when they experience heat or a mechanical stress. In this case, this includes sound. Because electricity can exist in a vacuum, the sound can actually jump—or tunnel—from one crystal to another.

This “tunneling” occurs in frequencies in our audible range (such as a human scream, perhaps) as well as ultrasonic and hypersonic frequencies beyond human hearing . Of course, there is one big catch—the distance between these two crystals can’t be larger than the wavelength of the sound wave itself. So, as frequencies increase, the gap between the two crystals must get smaller and smaller.

This method of sound “tunneling” also isn’t perfect. Sometimes, sound waves were warped, reflected, or otherwise distorted as it traveled via this electric field. However, on other occasions, the sound waves survived the microscopic vacuum journey unaffected.

“In most cases the effect is small, but we also found situations where the full energy of the wave jumps across the vacuum with 100% efficiency, without any reflections,” Ilari Maasilta from the Nanoscience Center at the University of Jyväskylä and study co-author said in a press statement . “As such, the phenomenon could find applications in microelectromechanical components (smartphone technology) and in the control of heat.”

In other words, the xenomorph can maintain its advantage.

Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough. 

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by Chris Woodford . Last updated: July 23, 2023.

Photo: Sound is energy we hear made by things that vibrate. Photo by William R. Goodwin courtesy of US Navy and Wikimedia Commons .

What is sound?

Photo: Sensing with sound: Light doesn't travel well through ocean water: over half the light falling on the sea surface is absorbed within the first meter of water; 100m down and only 1 percent of the surface light remains. That's largely why mighty creatures of the deep rely on sound for communication and navigation. Whales, famously, "talk" to one another across entire ocean basins, while dolphins use sound, like bats, for echolocation. Photo by Bill Thompson courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife Service .

Robert Boyle's classic experiment

Artwork: Robert Boyle's famous experiment with an alarm clock.

How sound travels

Artwork: Sound waves and ocean waves compared. Top: Sound waves are longitudinal waves: the air moves back and forth along the same line as the wave travels, making alternate patterns of compressions and rarefactions. Bottom: Ocean waves are transverse waves: the water moves back and forth at right angles to the line in which the wave travels.

The science of sound waves

Picture: Reflected sound is extremely useful for "seeing" underwater where light doesn't really travel—that's the basic idea behind sonar. Here's a side-scan sonar (reflected sound) image of a World War II boat wrecked on the seabed. Photo courtesy of U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, US Navy, and Wikimedia Commons .

Whispering galleries and amphitheaters

Photos by Carol M. Highsmith: 1) The Capitol in Washington, DC has a whispering gallery inside its dome. Photo credit: The George F. Landegger Collection of District of Columbia Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress , Prints and Photographs Division. 2) It's easy to hear people talking in the curved memorial amphitheater building at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. Photo credit: Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress , Prints and Photographs Division.

Measuring waves

Understanding amplitude and frequency, why instruments sound different, the speed of sound.

Photo: Breaking through the sound barrier creates a sonic boom. The mist you can see, which is called a condensation cloud, isn't necessarily caused by an aircraft flying supersonic: it can occur at lower speeds too. It happens because moist air condenses due to the shock waves created by the plane. You might expect the plane to compress the air as it slices through. But the shock waves it generates alternately expand and contract the air, producing both compressions and rarefactions. The rarefactions cause very low pressure and it's these that make moisture in the air condense, producing the cloud you see here. Photo by John Gay courtesy of US Navy and Wikimedia Commons .

Why does sound go faster in some things than in others?

Chart: Generally, sound travels faster in solids (right) than in liquids (middle) or gases (left)... but there are exceptions!

How to measure the speed of sound

Sound in practice, if you liked this article..., find out more, on this website.

• Electric guitars
• Speech synthesis
• Synthesizers

On other sites

• Explore Sound : A comprehensive educational site from the Acoustical Society of America, with activities for students of all ages.
• Sound Waves : A great collection of interactive science lessons from the University of Salford, which explains what sound waves are and the different ways in which they behave.

Educational books for younger readers

• Sound (Science in a Flash) by Georgia Amson-Bradshaw. Franklin Watts/Hachette, 2020. Simple facts, experiments, and quizzes fill this book; the visually exciting design will appeal to reluctant readers. Also for ages 7–9.
• Sound by Angela Royston. Raintree, 2017. A basic introduction to sound and musical sounds, including simple activities. Ages 7–9.
• Experimenting with Sound Science Projects by Robert Gardner. Enslow Publishers, 2013. A comprehensive 120-page introduction, running through the science of sound in some detail, with plenty of hands-on projects and activities (including welcome coverage of how to run controlled experiments using the scientific method). Ages 9–12.
• Cool Science: Experiments with Sound and Hearing by Chris Woodford. Gareth Stevens Inc, 2010. One of my own books, this is a short introduction to sound through practical activities, for ages 9–12.
• Adventures in Sound with Max Axiom, Super Scientist by Emily Sohn. Capstone, 2007. The original, graphic novel (comic book) format should appeal to reluctant readers. Ages 8–10.

Popular science

• The Sound Book: The Science of the Sonic Wonders of the World by Trevor Cox. W. W. Norton, 2014. An entertaining tour through everyday sound science.

Academic books

• Master Handbook of Acoustics by F. Alton Everest and Ken Pohlmann. McGraw-Hill Education, 2015. A comprehensive reference for undergraduates and sound-design professionals.
• The Science of Sound by Thomas D. Rossing, Paul A. Wheeler, and F. Richard Moore. Pearson, 2013. One of the most popular general undergraduate texts.

Text copyright © Chris Woodford 2009, 2021. All rights reserved. Full copyright notice and terms of use .

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Sound cannot travel in vacuum. Describe an experiment to demonstrate this.

Experiment to demonstrate that sound cannot travel in vacuum:

Experiment 1:

We place a bell in an airtight jar and after ringing the bell, the sound is heard clearly. So it is proved that sound can travel in the air.

Experiment 2:

We place a bell in an air-tight jar that is connected to a vacuum pump. After ringing the bell we hear no sound. That proves that sound cannot travel in  vacuum.

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• Why does sound travel in a loop?
• Describe an activity to demonstrate that warm air is lighter than cool air.
• Cite an experiment to show that sound needs a material medium for its propagation.
• Describe some experiment to show that the magnetic field is associated with an electric current.
• Can sound travel through (a) iron, and (b) water?
• Explain why, a ringing bell suspended in a vacuum chamber cannot be heard outside.
• Why is an aeroplane unable to fly in vacuum?

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Explain why sound cannot travel through vacuum.

Step 1: sound: sound is a form of energy that is made up of vibrations. o bject vibrations cause movement in nearby air molecules. these molecules bump due to these vibrations, and make neighboring molecules excited, causing them also to vibrate. so this process of bumping molecules continues. this bumping causes the creation of sound. step 2: sound can't propagate in a vacuum: sound is a mechanical wave, so to propagate it, some material or medium is required. we know a vacuum is an empty space where no matter particles are present. sound cannot travel through a vacuum as there are no particles present for vibrations to take place. therefore, sound cannot travel through a vacuum..

what is vacuum ? explain why sound cannot travel through vaccum?

Can sound travel through vacuum? Describe an exeperiment?

Can sound travel through vacuum?

Can sound travel through a vacuum?