Table of Contents
Why do you hear a second sound of thunder?
However, the grumbles and growls we hear in thunderstorms actually come from the rapid expansion of the air surrounding the lightning bolt. As lightning connects to the ground from the clouds, a second stroke of lightning will return from the ground to the clouds, following the same channel as the first strike.
Why do we hear the sound of thunder a few seconds later than lightning?
Lightning is seen earlier and thunder is heard later because the speed of sound is 330 m/s and the speed of light is 300,000,000 m/s. Light travels faster than a sound. Thus, light from the lightning reaches first to you. The sound from the lightning takes longer to reach and hence heard later.
What is the second sound of thunder?
The faster they are heated, the faster their rate of expansion. But when air is heated to 54,000°F (30,000°C) in a fraction of a second, a phenomenon known as “explosive expansion” occurs. This is where air expands so rapidly that it compresses the air in front of it, forming a shock wave similar to a sonic boom.
Why does thunder make noise?
A big noise Why is thunder so loud? It’s because the amount of electrical energy that flows from the cloud to the ground is so enormous: it’s like a very big waterfall of electricity. The louder the sound that you hear, the closer you are to the lightning. Light travels through air much faster than sound.
Should I unplug stuff during a storm?
Anything that’s plugged into an outlet in your home is at risk of suffering damage from an electrical surge during thunderstorms. If an electrical storm has been forecast, unplug your computer, laptop, and other devices, and consider unplugging appliances.
What makes thunder sound the way it does?
How thunder sounds depends on a number of factors: the distance between you and the lightning strike, the temperature of the air, the amount of cloud and water in the air, as well as where the lightning channel is in relation to where you are situated. Light travels at 300,000 km/second, whereas sound travels at 0.3 km/sec.
Why do we see lightning before we hear thunder?
If we are watching the sky, we see the lightning before we hear the thunder. That is because light travels much faster than sound waves. We can estimate the distance of the lightning by counting how many seconds it takes until we hear the thunder. It takes approximately 5 seconds for the sound to travel 1 mile.
How does the speed of light affect Thunder?
How thunder sounds. Light travels at 300,000 km/second, whereas sound travels at 0.3 km/sec. This is why you can see the flash of lightning sooner than you hear the rumble of thunder that the initial lightning strike produces. As the distance to the lightning strike increases, the pitch of the thunder lowers.
When does a clap or rumble of thunder occur?
A clap is the sound of thunder when the lightning channel is perpendicular to the observer’s line of sight. A rumble is the sound of thunder when the lightning channel is roughly parallel to the observer’s line of sight. An example of this is when lightning follows a path from one side of the cloud to another.