us.2u Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 I presume all manned spacecraft when in space break the sound barrier; so can anyone enlighten me, that when the astronauts are traveling faster than sound, how & why is it possible for radio communications with that craft in space to us here on Earth? because if they've broken the sound barrier it dosen't seem feasible we could hear them us.2u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 radio communications use radio waves which are part of the EM spectrum, they travel at the speed of light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
us.2u Posted February 17, 2005 Author Share Posted February 17, 2005 So when that radio communincation traveling at the speed of light should break the sound barrier? so if all these radio waves are doing just that why are't we hearing constant booms each time the sound barrier is broken?...us.2u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 im not 100% sure of the phyics of the sonic boom, although I do understand the basics, I think it has something to do with the fact that radio waves do not have mass. Think, last time you turned a light on you didnt hear a sonic boom from the light waves coming out did you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 you`ll not hear a boom in space as that would require an atmosphere, secondly the boom occurs Behind the craft, and since the pilot is traveling faster than that sound, it can never quite "Catch up" to him/her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 EM radiation doesn't make a shock wave, since it doesn't use the air as a propagation medium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
us.2u Posted February 17, 2005 Author Share Posted February 17, 2005 Thank you all; basically I understand as radio waves are not physical energy, I think that's what everyone is saying which makes sense to me once again thank-you...us.2u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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