space is a desolate void a vacuum where
no sound can travel so you might think
that space is extremely quiet you would
be right but only because you don't have
the capability to hear anything with
your natural ears turn your ears into
radio wave receivers and suddenly space
is a constant symphony of strange and
interesting sounds I'm Alex McColgan and
you're watching astral and together we
will find out what the sources of these
radio waves are and what they sound like
we don't have to go too high above earth
to already be in space only 160
kilometers up and sound can't be heard
anymore because there aren't enough
particles for sound waves to travel but
even here in space there are plenty of
other waves to be found the ones
particularly interesting to us are
electromagnetic waves which don't
require other particles to travel like
sound but rather travel by themselves
through photons you are witnessing a
form of electromagnetic radiation right
now in the form of visible light by
watching this video however visible
light is just a tiny section of the
total spectrum of electromagnetic
radiation it stretches from waves with
extremely high frequencies to radio
waves which have waves sometimes
kilometers long there are observatories
that look at all these different
wavelengths and this channel has focused
normally on frequencies higher than
infrared as they can easily be converted
and visualized in visible light but
there are also radio observatories some
orbit in earth right now and we're gonna
check out what they have picked up in
the way you are most used to witness in
radio waves at audio frequencies
converted to sound
being in it's Van Allen belt for its
large band of radiation surrounding the
planet and you'll already start to hear
some very interesting sounds new sounds
are generated by energetic particles in
Earth's plasmasphere
which are being tugged to and fro by
their rotation of Earth's magnetic field
you see there is a plasma sphere around
Earth containing clumps of ions and
electrons as Earth and is magnetosphere
rotate the magnetic fields push through
these particles accelerating them in a
wave called a plasma wave similar in a
way to how disturbances in its oceans
can cause waves to form you are here in
these disturbances in the form of radio
waves as they passed by one of NASA's
Van Allen probes these are called chorus
waves and are often heard you in Earth's
dawn which is why they are found on this
side of the planet an amazing type of
chorus wave closer to here is the
whistle AMOLED plasma wave which sounds
like space battles and laser fire
[Applause]
these exist in the cold and then so part
of the plasmasphere
and are caused by electromagnetic
radiation released by lightning strike
in in the atmosphere these waves
generated by these strikes can bounce
around within the magnetic field of the
earth and because higher frequencies
travel faster than lower frequencies
that's why these chorus waves sound like
they have a fallin pitch like a whistle
[Music]
going further out from the plasma sphere
an opposite effect can be heard this
time there is a rising tone almost like
a conversation between songbirds it is
thought to be caused by electrons moving
towards the night side of the earth
because of magnetic reconnection in
Earth's magnetic tail transferring their
energy to the plasma as they collide
with it as can be seen in this
simulation in another region within the
plasma sphere we can find something
called hiss waves
[Music]
these are thought to be chorus waves
which have leaked out from the inner
plasmasphere
it sounds much more menacing and cold
than the other sounds we've heard so far
I find these clips very interesting but
it's sometimes hard to comprehend waves
you can't see but sound adds a new layer
of understanding when combining it with
a visualization even with this though
electromagnetic radiation can be a
difficult subject to grasp brilliant org
has a course specifically on radiation
to help fill in the knowledge gaps where
they explain about the electromagnetic
spectrum and how it travels in waves so
much of our day-to-day life is governed
by these waves from seeing with our eyes
to the Wi-Fi we receive on our phones to
the radio stations we tune in to give
brilliant to go for free today and gain
a better understanding of the world
around you by using the link brilliant
or for / astrum you can have a sample of
their courses plus if you opt for the
annual premium subscription the first
200 people will get 20% off and so there
we have the sounds of radio waves in
space around it if you liked what you
saw and heard today why not join my
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you can donate to have your name added
to this list all the best and I'll see
you next time