0

Do sound waves travel along/with electromagnetism and static electricity from the sun?

Qmechanic
  • 201,751

2 Answers2

2

No. Electromagnetic waves are the "things" that travel from the sun. They are basically oscillations of electric $\vec{E}$ and magnetic $\vec{B}$ field. On the other hand the thing you hear (sound waves) are actually oscillations of pressure or density of some medium (for example air).

In order to hear a wave it must be able to "force" your eardrum to oscillate. Electromagnetic waves can't do that. On the other hand oscillations of pressure are capable to "shake" your eardrum. That's how you detect (hear) a sound.

Also, sound waves can't travel along or with electromagnetic waves because they require a medium to propagate through. In that medium pressure or density (previously mentioned) will oscillate. As you maybe know, it was believed for a long time that light too needed a medium to propagate through. Such medium was called aether. Michelson–Morley experiment proved that aether doesn't exist, and that marked the beginning of special theory of relativity.

I will also point out that there are some important similarities between these two waves. For instance, acoustic waves have the property that their dispersion relation is linear for small wavelengths. $$ \tag{1} \omega = c |\vec{k}| \quad \text{for small } |\vec{k}| $$

Electromagnetic waves also have this property. In fact, linear dispertion relation (1) remains valid for electromagnetic waves for every $|\vec{k}|$...

RedGiant
  • 1,725
2

Sound waves are produced by the Sun, but is difficult for us to detect them as sound waves, because they do not easily travel through the near-vacuum between us and the Sun.

Most of the sound is generated by turbulence in the convection zone, which would produce a noise-like hiss at frequencies below those audible to humans. Some of those frequencies resonate within the volume of the Sun, causing spikes within the frequency spectrum (particularly the p-mode oscillations with a period of about 5 minutes, or a frequency of 3-4 mHz).

We know the above, because we can observe the surface of the Sun moving in response to these oscillations, in the same way that it is possible to watch a loudspeaker oscillate in response to being driven by a low frequency sound.

Some of this sound energy does propagate away from the Sun's surface, and into the solar corona, mainly in the form of magnetohydrodynamic waves, carried by magnetic field lines. But these are dissipated well before they reach the Earth.

ProfRob
  • 130,455