ELI5: Would the sound of a spaceship leaving Earth slowly disappear to the people inside of it?

Submitted by 4thesuns t3_z841z9 in explainlikeimfive

I've been thinking about this for a little while. I know sound can't be heard in space, but also, people inside a spaceship aren't in the vacuum of space. I was wondering if, in a situation where, say, they could hear the boosters of the ship from outside of the enclosed space, the sound would still reach them inside and if no, if it would get quieter and quieter as they're leaving Earth's atmosphere or just suddenly stop?

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drafterman t1_iy9m7sd wrote

Sound can't be heard in space because there is no medium through which sound can travel. So you don't need to be in the vacuum, the vacuum just needs to exist between you and the source of the sound; there is no way for the sound to traverse that vacuum even if the source and destination aren't in vacuums themselves.

So no sound from the boosters can travel through space outside the shuttle then reach them in side.

That said, the boosters are still connected to the shuttle itself and sound can travel through the shuttle and inside and they will still be able to hear that.

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ThatIowanGuy t1_iy9oy19 wrote

This. It’s similar to how you can hear yourself chew or how clearly you can hear something tapping on your tooth. The sound waves can travel through the medium of your head to your ears. I think they made some gimmicky toothbrushes years ago that utilized this and played music you could only hear if the brush was against your teeth.

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4thesuns OP t1_iy9vu1g wrote

So based on that. Would the sound from outside slowly fade out as they would leave space? Thank you for your answer btw :)

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camkatastrophe t1_iyabumd wrote

So sound is caused by something vibrating. Any sound that's coming from the boosters vibrating air molecules outside which vibrate the windows which vibrate the air inside would fade out to nothing as air outside got thinner. But any sound coming from the boosters vibrating the vessel itself would still be heard even as the vessel got completely out of the atmosphere.

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praguepride t1_iyalbdi wrote

If engines are firing or mechanical parts are moving they will likely cause vibrations that will travel through physical connections so you will hear them. But if nothing on the ship is moving or creating noise then there is no ambient sound and you would likely start to become very keenly aware of the noises your body makes. They build perfectly sound proof rooms here and apparently from people who have stayed inside you stsrt noticing your saliva squishing around, the dull thump of your heart beating, gurgles from your stomach and gut etc.

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zekromNLR t1_iyb58gb wrote

The sound rom the engines should I think not change from the time the vehicle goes supersonic up to engine cutoff, since from that point on, the only sound from the engines that can reach the crew is that which is transmitted through the vehicle structure.

Aerodynamic noise from the air flowing around the vehicle (though I don't know how audible that would be with the smooth aerodynamics around an ascending rocket) would of course steadily dimish during ascent.

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TheJeeronian t1_iy9ove6 wrote

Almost all of the sound of the rocket comes from inside the rocket. Its main path to the passengers is through the rocket. This path is not interrupted when you remove the air.

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TheSmellofOxygen t1_iyadhbu wrote

As long as the boosters are firing the vibrations from them will shake the spacecraft and produce a lot of sound inside. It will lessen a little as the atmosphere and its friction falls behind them, but not a ton. When you're sitting on a live rocket, it sounds like you're sitting on a live rocket.

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