Can You Hear a Scream in Space? Science for Kids

Skimmy screams as loud as she can — and Droplet hears nothing. The scream never went anywhere: it stayed inside her helmet, because outside is space, and there is no air out there. Droplet explains the rule of the episode: sound is a wave, and tiny particles pass it on by pushing one another. No particles — nobody to push — no sound at all. No matter how loud you shout. We check it at home. Put your ear on the table and ask a grown-up to scratch the far end with one finger, very gently. It sounds as if someone were scratching right inside your ear! Now lift your head and let them scratch the same way — you can barely hear it. In wood the particles are pressed together and the push runs far; in air they are spread out and it fades. And how do you make it completely silent? That is how scientists checked it: a bell hangs under a glass dome and a pump takes the air out. Fewer and fewer particles — and the hammer strikes, but there is no sound. You can see it, you cannot hear it. Emptiness with nothing in it at all is called a vacuum. Space is almost the same vacuum: a few particles are out there, but so far apart that there is nobody to push. That is why space is silent: no explosions, no shouting. And the roaring explosions in the movies are sound that was added to make them exciting. An educational physics cartoon for children aged 7–10, with a safe experiment you can repeat at home. In this episode: 0:00 Skimmy screams in space — and nobody hears her 0:21 The answer: there is no air in space, so a scream cannot be heard 0:32 Sound is a wave passed on by particles 0:49 Experiment at home: your ear on the table 1:14 Now through the air — barely a whisper 1:30 A bell under a glass dome 1:44 A question for you: will we hear the bell without air? 1:59 Two seconds of silence: you see it, you cannot hear it 2:07 What a vacuum is 2:35 Why space is silent and where the movie roar comes from 2:49 Try it yourself and show your mum You will need: • a wooden table • a grown-up to scratch the far end gently with one finger Safety: • never bang or knock on a table that has an ear on it — only a gentle scratch • never shout straight into anyone's ear • nobody makes a vacuum at home: that pump exists only in a laboratory, and we need air to breathe • for parents: after this episode remind your child that sealed boxes, chests, fridges and plastic bags are never a place to play or to check "where there is no air" #physicsforkids #scienceforkids #kidsexperiments #sound