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Lightning travels at 186,000 miles per second, while sound travels much, much, much., much, slower, typically about 1 mile every 5 seconds. The light simply reaches you long before the clap!

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16y ago

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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 is the sound of a thunder heard after the lighting is seen although they are produced at the same time?

Light travels faster than sound, so when lightning strikes, the light is seen immediately while the sound takes time to reach our ears. The delay in hearing the thunder allows us to calculate the distance of the storm based on the time difference between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder.


Why do you hear tunder sound after lightning explain?

You hear thunder after seeing lightning because lightning produces intense heat that causes the air to rapidly expand and create a shock wave. This shock wave is what we hear as thunder. The distance between you and the lightning strike can affect the time gap between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder.


What would it mean if there were many seconds in between the flash of lightning and the roar of thunder?

If there are many seconds between the flash of lightning and the roar of thunder, it indicates that the storm is far away. Each second of delay between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder represents a distance of about 1 mile between you and the lightning strike.


Why does thunder happen ten seconds after lighting strikes?

It doesn't always. Thunder is the noise made by the lightning... it is a sonic shock wave which produces the noise we hear as thunder. The time taken for the light to reach us and the time taken for the sound to reach us differ because of the differing speeds of light and sound. As the speed of sound is so much slower than that of light we see a flash almost as soon as it happens, but we only hear the sound a lot later.... the lightning is approximately one kilometre distant for every 2.9 seconds which elapse between seeing the flash and hearing the crack. If there is a ten second delay then the lightning strike is a little under 3.5 kilometres away.

Related Questions

If the time lag between seeing the flash of lighting and hearing the thunder is 4 seconds how far away is the lighting?

The time lag between seeing the flash of lightning and hearing the thunder corresponds to the distance between you and the lightning strike. To calculate this distance, you can use the fact that sound travels at approximately 343 meters per second in air. So, for a 4-second time lag, the lightning strike is approximately 1372 meters away.


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.


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.


Why is the sound of a thunder heard after the lighting is seen although they are produced at the same time?

Light travels faster than sound, so when lightning strikes, the light is seen immediately while the sound takes time to reach our ears. The delay in hearing the thunder allows us to calculate the distance of the storm based on the time difference between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder.


How can one determine the distance of lightning?

To determine the distance of lightning, count the number of seconds between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder, then divide by 5 to get the distance in miles.


Why do you hear tunder sound after lightning explain?

You hear thunder after seeing lightning because lightning produces intense heat that causes the air to rapidly expand and create a shock wave. This shock wave is what we hear as thunder. The distance between you and the lightning strike can affect the time gap between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder.


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

The delay between the lightning and the sound of thunder is due to the difference in speed between light and sound. Light travels much faster than sound, so we see the lightning first before hearing the thunder. By counting the seconds between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder, you can estimate how far away the lightning struck.


What would it mean if there were many seconds in between the flash of lightning and the roar of thunder?

If there are many seconds between the flash of lightning and the roar of thunder, it indicates that the storm is far away. Each second of delay between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder represents a distance of about 1 mile between you and the lightning strike.


What is the time lapse between lightning and thunder?

Light travels faster than sound, so lightning is seen before thunder is heard. The time lapse between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder depends on how far away the storm is. Each second between the flash and the sound represents about 0.3 kilometers (0.2 miles) of distance.


Why does thunder happen ten seconds after lighting strikes?

It doesn't always. Thunder is the noise made by the lightning... it is a sonic shock wave which produces the noise we hear as thunder. The time taken for the light to reach us and the time taken for the sound to reach us differ because of the differing speeds of light and sound. As the speed of sound is so much slower than that of light we see a flash almost as soon as it happens, but we only hear the sound a lot later.... the lightning is approximately one kilometre distant for every 2.9 seconds which elapse between seeing the flash and hearing the crack. If there is a ten second delay then the lightning strike is a little under 3.5 kilometres away.


What are some examples that demonstrate that sound takes time to travel?

Hearing thunder after seeing lightning because sound travels slower than light. Delay between seeing a distant firework explode and hearing the sound it makes. Hearing an echo in a large empty room due to sound waves taking time to bounce off surfaces and return to the listener.


If you hear thunder 5 s after seeing a flash of lightning the distance to the lightning strike is about?

Roughly 1 mile away. Sound travels at about 1 mile every 5 seconds, so the time difference between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder can give you an estimate of the distance to the lightning strike.