this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2026
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[–] Eldritch@piefed.world 2 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

There's a medium even in interstellar space. But the pressure is low, so transmission is as well. There is no hard boundary on 'atmosphere'. Just smooth gradients of density across the universe

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Technically true, there is matter in space. But the particles are so far apart that they don't vibrate against each other, so no reasonable person would describe it as a medium of transmission.

[–] Eldritch@piefed.world 4 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Particle's still collide in space. There's nothing keeping them from doing that. Collisions simply increase due to increased pressure. It's not really technical, just true. If anything it's a misunderstanding to imply otherwise or that empty space exists. If you want to distinguish human audible. Then certainly it isn't that. But then neither are infrasound or ultrasound.

Technically and extremely fascinating is that "space itself" not just the baryons inside it, is still a medium. Its literally how LIGO functions. And if that's not mind blowing enough, there actually are massive structures in space caused by pressure waves that we can detect. Those are technical. And another fun fact, if the atmospheric pressure at sea level extended all the way to the sun. We would be able to perceive the sound of the sun. Millions of miles away. Everywhere across the surface of the earth a constant 100 Dba roar. A bit quieter than standing close to a jet engine.

[–] Jakeroxs@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 hours ago

Thank you for the rabbit holes, interesting stuff!