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Lightning travels approximately at 60,000 miles a second (96,560 kps), while sound travels at a pokey one-fifth of a mile per second (20 kps). I think you might have actually been referring to light, not lightning, which travels at 186,411 miles per second (300,000 kps). In other words, light travels almost a million times faster than sound.

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16y ago

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Is lightning or sound faster?

Lightning. Because it is the speed of light.


Why is it that lightning travels faster than sound?

Light speed is much faster than the speed of sound, ergo the light you see in lightning is visible, before you here the sound.


Which of these two is faster is it lightning or thunder?

The lightning. The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound. In addition, lightning creates thunder, therefore it happens first, therefore must be faster. See the related link for more information.


Why do you see a lightning flash before you hear it?

Because the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound.


Why does thunder ussually occur during storms that have lightning flashes?

The thunder is the sound of lightning but you only hear the thunder after the flash because lightning is faster than the speed of sound.


Why does lightning first?

The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound, therefore you see lightning first during a thunderstorm, then you hear the thunder. *yikes!* :) ilovecatz1234


Which travels faster noise or lightning?

lightning travels faster. Light is faster than sound.


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.


Which travels faster lightning or thunder?

Lightning travels faster than thunder. Lightning is a visible discharge of electricity that moves at the speed of light, which is about 186,000 miles per second. Thunder, on the other hand, is the sound created by the rapid expansion of air after lightning heats it up, traveling at the speed of sound, which is approximately 1,125 feet per second.


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.


Explain why thunder is heard after the lightning is seen?

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.


A person will see a flash of lightning before they hear the thunder that goes with it because?

Light travels faster than sound, so the light from the lightning reaches our eyes almost instantly, whereas the sound of thunder takes longer to reach our ears because it travels slower. This difference in speed results in the flash of lightning being seen before the accompanying thunder is heard.