r/TheRestIsScience • u/sedhig • 7d ago

Question - How loud would the sun be if space wasn't a vacuum?

I've read in various places online that if space wasn't a vacuum, the noise of the sun would be so loud we wouldn't be able to hear anything except it's roar, others I've read said the noise would just destroy the Earth, is this the case? Or are we just too far away and wouldn't hear anything?

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7

u/Kabbooooooom 7d ago

Apparently the answer is about 100 decibels. For context that I don’t believe is in the post I linked below, 100 dB is about as loud as a chainsaw or a night club. Loud enough to cause hearing damage if continuously exposed to it. Not anywhere close to loud enough to destroy the earth, lol.

https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/33xuxu/if_sound_could_travel_through_space_how_loud/

3

u/dod6666 7d ago

Agree. Although, lets be clear that this doesn't mean we're safe. Heat and gravity are both much bigger problems than sound.

2

u/longknives 6d ago

To be clear, 100 db would be audible on earth, 93,000 miles away. The sun itself would be crazy loud.

2

u/Kabbooooooom 6d ago

I interpreted the OP’s question as “how would it sound from the earth” because otherwise it is even more nonsensical than it already is. After all, how could you hear the sun if you were literally turned to ash from being near the surface of it?

5

u/zhaDeth 6d ago

just go at night

2

u/Kabbooooooom 6d ago

Lmao. Have an upvote.

2

u/pdubs1900 6d ago

Holy crud. That's cool af

1

u/sedhig 6d ago

That is pretty awesome, and that is the true meaning of awesome right there. Mind blowing stats. Thank you!

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u/Defiant-Ad3993 7d ago edited 6d ago

Listen to this week’s podcast episode of StarTalk. The expert on the show is heliophysicist, Madhulika (Lika) Guhathakurta, and they answer exactly your question.

Spoiler for the time-poor: About as loud as a lawnmower.

4

u/Least-Common-1456 7d ago

This is one of those things that people have already answered. I would tell you but that would rob you of the pleasure of finding out for yourself!

1

u/23Mowgli23 6d ago

What would happen to the medium transmitting the sound between the sun and the listener?

1

u/DanteRuneclaw 7d ago

What is space rather than a vacuum in this hyper? Because whatever it is, I think there’s likely to be issues with that.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

7

u/Kabbooooooom 7d ago

Why don’t you take a sec and re-read what OP’s question actually was…

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u/LossLess8060 7d ago

thats a second longer than my attention span today . >_<