Can space ever really be completely empty?

Question

OK lets say I'm floating out in space 100 light years from the nearest star, the space around me may be empty of matter but since I can detect light radiation and cosmic rays from distant stars and pulsars,etc. the space isn't really empty is it? Is there likely to be anywhere in the known universe that is COMPLETELY empty?

Answer 1

No.  Because of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, virtual particles come into existence from time to time; the process can be measured in a laboratory.

Answer 2

Certainly.

Most of space is completely empty.  There may be a trillion photons passing through the cubic foot of space your head occupies which allows you to see the stars.  There may be a trillion times a trillion photons.  But the ratio of the size of a photon to the vacuum it travels through is incredibly tiny.  For there to be no empty space would require every last cubic micron in the universe to be packed solid with particles of some sort of another.

There is actually very little matter and energy in the universe in comparison to the universe's size.

Answer 3

No.  A vacuum, which is completely empty of all matter, exists in theory only.

Answer 4

No, there is not. You've provided very good reasoning behind this.  If such a place existed, my bet would be that if a person COULD be there, they would not know it, as there would be nothing to stimulate their senses.

Answer 5

No. Everything has some space. But Space is not empty. Just because we don't have the technology to go out that far doesn't mean there is nothing out there.