Thunder is sound- it travels at the speed of sound- about 1100 feet per second. Lightning is light- it travels at the speed of light- about 186,000 miles a second. The light is faster, gets there first.
The answer is a storm. Lightning is seen before thunder, which is heard before rain, which falls from the clouds during a storm.
Thunder - is the result of a lightning flash. The flash causes the surrounding air to move away from the source at 300 metres/second. An approximate calculation for the relationship between the lightning flash to hearing the thunder, is 5 seconds per mile.
Light travels faster than sound
Surely you have heard thunder and seen lightening during a storm - what you can see and measure is fact not myth.
When lightning appears in the remote distance and appears to produce no thunder sound, it is popularly known as "heat lightning." Meteorologists will tell you that there really is no such thing as a distinct type of lightning that is not followed by thunder. All lightning produces thunder, but it is only audible for a distance of some 15-20 miles from the storm. At night, lightning can be seen for distances of up to 125 miles if the conditions are right. So when lightning is seen but no thunder is heard, you are simply too far away from the storm.
Thunder is heard after lightning is seen because lightning produces a rapid expansion of air, creating shock waves that we hear as thunder.
No, lightning is seen before thunder is heard. The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound, so light from the lightning reaches us first, followed by the sound of thunder a few seconds later.
When lightning appears in the remote distance and appears to produce no thunder sound, it is popularly known as "heat lightning." Meteorologists will tell you that there really is no such thing as a distinct type of lightning that is not followed by thunder. All lightning produces thunder, but it is only audible for a distance of some 15-20 miles from the storm. At night, lightning can be seen for distances of up to 125 miles if the conditions are right. So when lightning is seen but no thunder is heard, you are simply too far away from the storm.
the lightning was 0.8 miles away.
The answer is a storm. Lightning is seen before thunder, which is heard before rain, which falls from the clouds during a storm.
Thunder - is the result of a lightning flash. The flash causes the surrounding air to move away from the source at 300 metres/second. An approximate calculation for the relationship between the lightning flash to hearing the thunder, is 5 seconds per mile.
Light travels faster than sound
Surely you have heard thunder and seen lightening during a storm - what you can see and measure is fact not myth.
When lightning appears in the remote distance and appears to produce no thunder sound, it is popularly known as "heat lightning." Meteorologists will tell you that there really is no such thing as a distinct type of lightning that is not followed by thunder. All lightning produces thunder, but it is only audible for a distance of some 15-20 miles from the storm. At night, lightning can be seen for distances of up to 125 miles if the conditions are right. So when lightning is seen but no thunder is heard, you are simply too far away from the storm.
Heat lightning is a term used to describe lightning that can be seen from a distance without hearing thunder. It is usually from a distant storm and is not directly associated with the thunderstorm you are observing. Regular lightning produces thunder because it is closer to you, and the sound of thunder travels slower than light, causing a delay between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder.
When lightning strikes with no thunder, it is called heat lightning. This phenomenon occurs when lightning is too far away for the sound to be heard but the light can still be seen. Heat lightning is typically observed on hot summer nights.
No. Thunder is the result of lightning when it hits the ground. After lightning hits the ground the air expands (because of the increase in temp.) and quickly condenses. That air condensing is what we hear when there is thunder. Because light travels faster than sound we see lightning then hear thunder.