Can light enegry or waves affects sound waves?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion explores the relationship between light waves and sound waves, focusing on whether and how light can affect sound. Participants consider theoretical implications, experimental conditions, and personal interpretations of sound and light interactions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that light can indirectly affect sound by increasing the temperature of the medium through which sound travels, potentially altering the speed of sound.
  • Others argue that while light may affect sound, the changes are likely to be minimal and not noticeable under normal conditions.
  • One participant expresses a conceptual idea of using sound as a reference point instead of light, questioning the implications of such a perspective.
  • A participant questions the mass of light and its ability to affect sound, suggesting that the pressure felt from light could imply it has mass.
  • Another participant challenges the notion that light's pressure can be felt, stating that light carries momentum but does not have mass in the classical sense.
  • There is a mention of a personal theory regarding the relationship between dark and light, although it remains speculative and not widely understood.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying viewpoints on the relationship between light and sound, with no consensus reached on the extent or significance of light's effect on sound. Some ideas are contested, and several participants raise questions that remain unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include assumptions about the medium's properties, the conditions under which light might affect sound, and the definitions of mass and pressure in relation to light.

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is there any relations for light waves to affects sound waves? :biggrin:
 
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Light can indirectly affect sound: since sound must travel through a medium (air) made of particles, those particles could absorb energy from light. WHen the particles absorbe energy, the temperature of the medium goes up. THis will increase the speed of sound through the medium. This will in turn change the refractive index of the substance and could cause a change in direction of propagation of the sound.

So since light interacts with matter, and sound must travel through matter, light will affect sound. This effect would be hard to notice under normal atmospheric conditions, but might be significant under some experimental procedure. I can't think of any use for it, what are you thinking of doing?
 
oh thanks meson. i have been reading up on GR and hyperspace for a while. But i have not touched much on the calculations part yet, but i am considering the idea of using sound as a point of view instead of light. Simply means that even we humans used light as an reference point, what will it be for sound? ..weird idea of mine..thanks again. :rolleyes:
 
So when you have light in a room with sound waves coming from somthing, would you be able to hear the sound better, or would it be harder to hear?
 
aeros, although the light affects sound, it will only affect it a tiny amount, so no audible difference will be heard :D
 
Ok thank you for the answer. If light has no mass wouldn't it not affect sound at all? I would think itd have mass becasue when you close your eyes it still exerxts pressure on them, or at least it feels like it to me, and wouldn't the mass of light be the area that is covering? Sorry if I am asking redundant questions, but if dark is before light wouldn't that mean that it travels faster than it?
 
Aeros said:
Ok thank you for the answer. If light has no mass wouldn't it not affect sound at all? I would think itd have mass becasue when you close your eyes it still exerxts pressure on them, or at least it feels like it to me,
Light has no mass, but carries momentum, which obvious is not related to its speed by [itex]p=mc[/itex] like classical massive particle. So light can exert pressure, which is just rate of momentum exchange per area as light (or particle) bounding off a surface. The claim that you can feel it is completely baloney though.

Aeros said:
and wouldn't the mass of light be the area that is covering? Sorry if I am asking redundant questions, but if dark is before light wouldn't that mean that it travels faster than it?
No idea what you just said here.
 
As in feel i ment when I close my eyes I can still feel the light penetrating my eye lids I am sure we all can, and the dark coming before light is just a theory of mine just seeing if anyone would concur, but since no one seems to know much about dark energy its not perplexing.
 

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