In radio astronomy, is sound actually traveling through the vacuum of space?
The answer to the first question is no. It is an electric, wave, so to speak. There is a device in the transmitting (TX) device that converts the sound to electricity and there is a similar device in the receiver (RX) to convert the electricity back to the sounds. Take a citizens band CB radio for example: When you key the mic on your radio it flips a switch inside the radio that basically tells the it to start TX and the sound that you make travels electrically through a long wire that breaks up the voice into something like Morse code. It then travels to and through the antenna. The antenna is like an invisible wire that connects one radio to another. Kinda like an invisible extension cord. The antenna is the weakest link between the two radios as well. When the electrical current reaches the other radio the process is basically reversed. We call that RX. Your car radio is always on the RX. Even a CB is on the RX until the mic is keyed. As far as sound traveling through space, well,
