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Q: What causes the delay between the lightning and the sound?
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During a thunderstorm you see the lightning followed by the sound of the thunder What causes the delay between the light and the sound?

Light travels much faster then sound. That is what causes the delay.


What is the approximate distance of a thunder storm if you notice a three-second delay between the flash of lightning and the sound of the thunder?

sound speed = d/p 340m/s = d/3s d= 1020 m


Why is lightning heard before thunder?

Lighting always comes just before thunder because it is the heat of lightning that causes thunder. Lightning is seen when there is a discharge of atmospheric electricity in the clouds or between clouds and the ground. The energy from the lightning heats the air and causes a sudden expansion of the air (followed by a rapid contraction), which results in the sound called thunder. Since the heat of lightning causes the expansion that results in thunder, the lighting must come first. (see related link below) Because light travels faster than sound, an observer will normally perceive a delay between lightning and thunder. This delay increases with farther distance from the actual lightning strike. People will often count the seconds that pass after they see lightning until they hear the thunder. The shorter the time observed between the two, the closer the lightning is to the observer. - In English units, every 5 seconds of delay is about a mile in distance. - In metric units, every 3 seconds of delay is about a kilometer in distance.


What is the speed of electricity or lightning compared to the speed of sound and light?

The speed of lightning is somewhere between that of light and sound which is why most scientists would agree that the speed of light and the speed of sound make a good comparison to that of lightning and electricity.


Why is thunder associated by lightning?

Lightning heats up the air and the heated expanding air causes the thunder sound. You can estimate how far away the lightening was by counting seconds after the flash, 6 seconds to a mile away.thunder is the sound of lightning after the lightning strike occurs

Related questions

During a thunderstorm you see the lightning followed by the sound of the thunder What causes the delay between the light and the sound?

Light travels much faster then sound. That is what causes the delay.


Why is there a delay between the lightning an thunder?

There is a delay between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder because the speed of light (lightning) is much faster than the speed of sound (thunder). Thus, you SEE lightning first, and then you HEAR thunder later.


Why can't you see thunder?

Thunder is our name for the sound made by lightning. The reason there is (usually) a delay between when you see the bolt of lightning and hear the thunder is that light travels more quickly than does sound. This is the reason that you can count seconds between seeing lightning and hearing thunder to figure out how close the lightning is to you. When the lightning is closer to you, the sound doesn't take as much time to travel to your ears and thus the gap between the lightning and thunder is shorter. So you can't see thunder because it's merely a sound - but you can see the source of that sound.


How far can you hear thunder?

Typically, thunder can be heard up to 10 miles away from a lightning strike. Sound travels much slower than light, so there is a delay between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder.


What is the approximate distance of a thunder storm if you notice a three-second delay between the flash of lightning and the sound of the thunder?

sound speed = d/p 340m/s = d/3s d= 1020 m


What is the approximate distance of the thunderstorm if you notice a three-second delay between the flash of lightning and the sound of the thunder?

The approximate distance is 1 kilometer or about 3/5ths of a mile away.


How does thunder?

Thunder is a sound made by lightning, where the sudden increase in pressure and heat from the lightning causes a rapid expansion of air that resulted in a loud sound.


This is a delay of 5 seconds between the time you see a flash of lightning and hear thunder if the temperature is 20 celsius how far away is the lightning strike?

So, the sound travels at about 340 meters per second. The answer is 340 meters X 5 seconds equals 1700 meters away is the lightning strikes.


Why is lightning heard before thunder?

Lighting always comes just before thunder because it is the heat of lightning that causes thunder. Lightning is seen when there is a discharge of atmospheric electricity in the clouds or between clouds and the ground. The energy from the lightning heats the air and causes a sudden expansion of the air (followed by a rapid contraction), which results in the sound called thunder. Since the heat of lightning causes the expansion that results in thunder, the lighting must come first. (see related link below) Because light travels faster than sound, an observer will normally perceive a delay between lightning and thunder. This delay increases with farther distance from the actual lightning strike. People will often count the seconds that pass after they see lightning until they hear the thunder. The shorter the time observed between the two, the closer the lightning is to the observer. - In English units, every 5 seconds of delay is about a mile in distance. - In metric units, every 3 seconds of delay is about a kilometer in distance.


What is the Difference between the thunderstorms and lightning?

Lightning is light energy, or electromagnetic energy. And thunder is sound energy.


What is the difference between a thunderstorm and lightning?

Lightning is light energy, or electromagnetic energy. And thunder is sound energy.


What is the speed of electricity or lightning compared to the speed of sound and light?

The speed of lightning is somewhere between that of light and sound which is why most scientists would agree that the speed of light and the speed of sound make a good comparison to that of lightning and electricity.