# Speed of sound in a vacuum

1. ### David Burke

46
Does anyone have an explanation for why kinetic energy carried by electromagnetic radiation travells at the speed of light?

My understanding of the speed of sound is that the denser the medium, the faster the wave velocity. Since this is just kinetic energy propagating through a medium, how is it different when applied to electromagnetic radiation? If it is no different, does that mean that a vacuum has infinite density?

2. ### DevilKnight

1
you seem to have confusion between sound waves and light waves. when you say electromagnetic radiation, you are talking about light wave. light can travel in vacuum. sound cannot travel in vacuum, it needs medium to propagate.

3. ### David Burke

46
True, sound waves (kinetic energy dispersing through a medium) requires something to travel through. So how can photons transfer kinetic energy (and at such velocity) without a medium. Correct me if I am wrong (very possible) but photons carry kinetic energy as shown by the photo electric effect and the fact that they have mass when not in a rest state. Also, if a laser is directerd onto a suspended metal surface the surface will rotate?

4. ### Pengwuino

7,118
That's just one of the wild things about light, it requires no medium to travel through.

Photons do not have mass, but they do have an energy and momentum (they simply are not given by $KE = {{1}\over{2}}mv^2$ and $p = mv$).

5. ### Karimspencer

117
You might have been confused. Sound propagate in vacuum but light can(300,000m/s)

6. ### vin300

522
Yes, it will. There's something called radiation pressure.
This pressure of light will be doubled for all angles of incidence if the light is both absorbed and reflected.
However, I think the formula of solar radiation pressure on that page is wrong.It should be F= -p(c+1)Ar
where p is the force per unit area,
c is the coefficient of reflectivity

Last edited: May 8, 2012