Which phenomenon does NOT describe a characteristic of sound waves?

Sound waves are mechanical waves that require a medium, such as air, water, or solid materials, to propagate. They consist of compressions and rarefactions that travel through this medium, transmitting energy from one location to another.

The characteristic that does not apply to sound waves is the ability to travel through a vacuum. This is because a vacuum is devoid of matter, meaning there are no molecules to vibrate and carry the sound energy. In contrast, sound waves can be reflected, refracted, and diffracted when they encounter different media or obstacles, which are all behaviors observed in their interaction with various materials. These properties are fundamental to understanding how sound behaves in environments like air or water, but the propagation in vacuum simply cannot occur.