Which can travel through a vacuum?

Answer

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Hint: Read the electromagnetic waves.
The electromagnetic waves are produced by accelerated or oscillating charge. These waves do not require any medium for propagation. These waves travel in free space with speed 3×108 ms-1. The orderly distribution of electromagnetic radiation according to their wavelength or frequency is called electromagnetic spectrum. : Radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, ultraviolet waves, X-waves, gamma-rays.

Complete step by step solution
Light waves: is electromagnetic radiation within the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelength in the range of 400-700 nanometer. LIGHT WAVES travel through vacuum.
Heat waves: is the transfer of internal energy in the form of electromagnetic waves. For most bodies on earth the radiation lies in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. HEAT WAVES travel through vacuum.
X-rays: is also electromagnetic waves which are produced when high energy electrons are stopped suddenly on a metal of high atomic number. X-RAYS travel through vacuum.
Sound waves: sound is Mechanical wave / disturbance from a state of equilibrium that propagates through an elastic material. They don’t travel through vacuum.
Hence, option (A), (B), (C) are correct.

Note
In electromagnetic waves the sinusoidal variation in both electric and magnetic vectors occurs simultaneously. The direction of variation of electric and magnetic field vectors are perpendicular to each other as well as perpendicular to direction of propagation. The electromagnetic waves being uncharged are not deflected by electric and magnetic fields.

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Solution

Sound wavesSound waves are longitudinal waves that travel through a medium like air or water. In physics, sound can be defined as a vibration that propagates as an audible wave of pressure, through a medium such as a gas, liquid or solidSound waves requires a medium through which they can travel.Hence, they cannot travel in a vacuum. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

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Textbooks

Question Papers

  1. Light
  2. Heat
  3. Sound
  4. Infrared ray

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 3 : Sound

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10 Questions 10 Marks 7 Mins

The correct answer is Sound.

Which can travel through a vacuum?
Key Points

  • Sound waves cannot travel in the vacuum of space because there is no medium to transmit these mechanical waves.
  • A sound is a vibration that propagates through a medium in the form of a mechanical wave.
  • The medium in which it propagates can either be a solid, a liquid, or a gas.
  • Sound travels fastest in solids, relatively slower in liquids, and slowest in gases.

Which can travel through a vacuum?
Important Points

  • Mechanical waves are caused by a disturbance or vibration in matter, whether solid, gas, liquid, or plasma.
    • Waves in water and sound waves in air are two examples of mechanical waves, both are required medium to transmit.
  • Heat travels through three main pathways: conduction, convection, and radiation.
    • Conduction describes heat transfer via direct contact of materials.
    • Convection is heat transfer arising from motions of gases or liquids, like hot air rising.
    • Radiation is heat transfer via electromagnetic waves.
      • It can occur across a vacuum, as in the sun warming the Earth.
  • Electromagnetic waves are waves that can travel through the vacuum of outer space.
    • The electromagnetic spectrum includes, from the longest wavelength to the shortest: radio waves, microwaves, infrared, optical, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma-rays can transmit through the vacuum.

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What can travel in a vacuum?

Light travels "at the speed of light." This speed is about 186,000 miles per second (670 million miles per hour), or about 300,000 kilometers per second. The speed of light is sort of a galactic "speed limit." So far, nothing has been found that can travel faster than light. Light can travel in a vacuum.

Which rays can travel through a vacuum?

Electromagnetic rays can travel through a vacuum and transparent media. However, sound waves are mechanical longitudinal waves. It cannot travel through vacuum as mechanical waves require elastic medium.

What can travel through a vacuum light or sound?

Light waves do not need a medium in which to travel but sound waves do. Explain that unlike sound, light waves travel fastest through a vacuum and air, and slower through other materials such as glass or water.