Why does thunder come after lightning?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: Light travels faster than sound
Lightning is faster than sound — Wrong. Lightning itself doesn't travel - it's a discharge. The difference is that we see the light instantly because light travels much faster than the sound (thunder) travels to reach us.
Light travels faster than sound ✓ — Correct! Lightning and thunder happen at the same instant. But light travels at 300,000 km/s while sound only travels at 0.3 km/s - about a million times slower! So you see the flash almost instantly, but the sound takes time to reach you. Count the seconds between flash and thunder, divide by 3 to get distance in kilometers!
Thunder takes time to form — Wrong. Thunder is created instantly when lightning heats the air. The delay is because sound travels much slower than light, not because thunder takes time to form.
More Weather & Climate questions
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