They say in space, no one can hear you scream, or sing, or even talk. That’s because outer space is a vacuum. In order for sound to travel, it needs to pass through something. In Earth’s case, sounds travels through air molecules. However, deep space lacks anything through which sound can travel, thus there is no sound whatsoever. However, while the human ear (or other animal’s) could never detect it, there is evidence that “sound” does exist deep within outer space in the form of magnetosonic waves. They are the result of massive amounts of matter and energy reacting with magnetic fields. Think about it this way: when you drop something heavy, it makes some sort of sound. The heavier that something is and the longer and faster it falls, the louder the sound is more likely to be. It’s a similar notion for magnetosonic waves. However, instead of sound waves, imagine waves of pure magnetized particles! Also called magnetoacoustic waves, they are the only voice with which the universe  is capable of talking. However, unlike true sound waves, magnetosonic waves don’t rely on molecules to travel through space. In fact, they’re not really sound waves at all. In actuality, they are made up of charged ions traveling within the magnetic field of certain plasmas. So instead of molecules, they use, you guessed it, magnetism! Magnetosonic waves also differ from other types of waves in that they are dispersion-less. In other words, the remain intact and do not vary in length or frequency like light waves and other, actual sound waves. Applications It doesn’t seem like there would be many uses for magnetosonic waves. They only occur in places hot enough to produce massive amounts of plasma—places like our sun and other stars. However, when viewed from a distance, they are actually proving beneficial for many scientists and researchers. Recently, the most promising research involving magnetosonic waves has been what they can teach us about the burgeoning field of coronal seismology. The corona, Latin for “crown,” is a ring of plasma shooting away from the sun. This is where magnetosonic waves live.   By studying magnetosonic waves, scientists are able to learn more about the energy the sun gives off. They can measure the strength of magnetosonic waves as they travel along the corona. This information gives scientists unique information about the sun’s behavior and things like solar flares. Magnetosonic waves are just one of the many amazing capabilities of magnetism. For more great articles about the wide world of magnetism, make sure to read the rest of our blog!