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Question:
The molecules on earth are a certain length apart. How much farther apart are those molecules in the vacuum of space?


Replies:
The following data come from the text "Astronomy: the Cosmic Journey" by William K. Hartmann, 4th edition, Table 20-2 on page 436: Locale Gas density Average distance
(kg/m^3) between molecules
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------
air at sea level 1.2 1 nm [ 10^(-9) m ]
laboratory "high vacuum" 10^(-9) 1000 nm [ 10^(-6) m ]
typical interplanetary space 10^(-20) 0.5 cm
typical interstellar space 10^(-21) 1.0 cm
typical intergalactic space 10^(-28) 2.0 m
I do not know if these numbers will tell you much. A nanometer (nm) is much smaller than a wavelength of visible light (~400 to 700 nm).

Rcwinther


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