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Radiation,
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sound in space, matter... |
Radiation
In space many different types of radiation is given out by stars
and other celestial objects like electromagnetic (all spectrums of light)
radiation, gamma (x-ray) radiation, microwave radiation and much more. Due
to this risk, space missions are planned so they do no coincide with solar
flares or other intense solar activities so as to protect the astronauts and
cosmonauts from the dangerous amounts of radiation that is emitted from the
sun. The Earth’s upper atmosphere of ozone blocks and protects us from most
of the harmful radiations; however some amounts do get in. Ultra-violet; a
spectrum of light, causes skin cancer amongst humans when are exposed to it
for prolonged periods of time. With the deterioration of the ozone layer,
more and more harmful radiation is entering the Earth’s atmosphere; clearly
a very big risk to humans.
Sound in space
Due to the fact that there are little or no atomic particles in space,
sound does not travel through it. Sound travels by vibrating particles, the
particles then pass on the vibration to other particles around it and so on.
To hear the sound, the human ear picks up on the vibrations and translates
it so that the brain can understand it. The brain then interprets the raw
data into words, noises, music and so forth. So thus if there were to be an
explosion in space, even if you were of close vicinity, you would no hear
it, unless of course there was air or some other
gas/metal/sound-conducting-substance in between you and the explosion.
 Detection
Using radio and x-ray telescopes, scientists have been able to
pinpoint the positions of otherwise undetectable stars, galaxies, black
holes and other objects due to the fact that the radiation that they emit
are detectable even across vast distances of space (i.e. between galaxies).
Both on land and in orbit are observatories which detect even the most
miniscule amounts of infra-red, x-ray (gamma), microwave, radio and light
radiation in order to piece together images and positions of distant
celestial bodies. If one takes a radio receiver and tunes it to a special
frequency in space then one may hear a rather unique noise. This noise is
how the radio receiver interprets the static that is coming from the
cosmos.
 Matter in space
Space is a vacuum, meaning that it is devoid of much free
floating particles (air) and has no pressure. Suppose a human were to step
into space without wearing a space suit; then his/her blood would boil away
into space and the human would die a very painful death. Matter is usually
confined where there is gravity to hold it down like residing on planets,
asteroids and stars where it cannot easily escape. Among the small particles
which do actually float around aimlessly, is space dust. Space dust travels
at exceedingly fast velocities many, many times faster than the speed of
sound. Getting hit by one without adequate protection would be deadly. When
these particles enter the Earth’s gravity they burn up and turn into what we
see as shooting stars. Gases are sparsely located and their amounts are
inadequate enough to power jet engines so alternative methods of thrust are
required; like rocket propulsion and ion propulsion systems, for instance. |
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