Table of Contents
When lightning strikes, a noise is made which we call thunder. Thunder travels much slower, at the speed of sound, about 1088 feet per second. It takes sound about 5 seconds to travel one mile.
How fast is thunder in mph?
The return stroke (the current that cause the visible flash) moves upward at a speed of about 320,000,000 ft per second or about 220,000,000 miles per hour (about 1/3 the speed of light). In comparison, the sound of thunder travels at about 1100 ft per second or about 750 miles per hour.
How far does thunder noise travel?
Thunder can be heard up to 25 miles away, and lightning strikes have been documented to occur as far as 25 miles from thunderstorms – known as a “bolt from the blue.” So if you can hear thunder, you’re close enough to be hit by lightning, and sheltering indoors or in an enclosed car is your safest bet.
How long would it take to hear thunder from a lightning strike 2 miles away?
10 seconds If thunder is heard The lightning is . . . 10 seconds after a flash 2 miles away 15 seconds after a flash 3 miles away 20 seconds after a flash 4 miles away 25 seconds after a flash 5 miles away.
How far away is a lightning strike if you hear the thunderclap 3.00 s?
When you are out in the great outdoors and have no internet access, you can calculate the distance of a storm using the simple 3-second rule: Just count the seconds between when you see the lightning strike and when you hear the thunder clap and divide this number by three.
How fast does lighting travel?
Light from a stationary source travels at 300,000 km/sec (186,000 miles/sec).
Is lightning faster than sound?
Yes! Lightning heats the air and causes shock waves. But you see lightning before you hear thunder because light, which travels a million times faster than sound, arrives almost instantly. Sound, on the other hand, takes about five seconds to travel one mile.
Can you hear thunder from 30 miles away?
Thunder is the sound produced by lightning and generally cannot be heard more than about 15 miles from the nearest point of the lightning bolt, though the upper limit of audibility can, at times, approach 30 miles.
How long does it take sound to travel 1 mile?
Thunder travels much slower, at the speed of sound, about 1088 feet per second. It takes sound about 5 seconds to travel one mile.
Why is thunder so loud?
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.
How fast does sound travel per second?
This method is based on the fact that light travels much faster than sound through the atmosphere: Light travels at 186,291 miles per second (299,800 km/s), whereas the speed of sound is only about 1,088 feet per second (332 meters per second), depending on air temperature.
What is the 30 30 rule for lightning?
Don’t forget the 30-30 rule. After you see lightning, start counting to 30. If you hear thunder before you reach 30, go indoors. Suspend activities for at least 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder.
Can there be thunder without lightning?
No, it is not possible to have thunder without lightning. Thunder starts as a shockwave from the explosively expanding lightning channel when a large current causes rapid heating. However, it is possible that you might see lightning and not hear the thunder because it was too far away. Thunder is caused by lightning.
Does counting seconds after lightning work?
If you count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder, and then divide by 5, you’ll get the distance in miles to the lightning: 5 seconds = 1 mile, 15 seconds = 3 miles, 0 seconds = very close. Keep in mind that you should be in a safe place while counting.
How close can lightning strike without hurting you?
Greg Schoor with the National Weather Service says in some instances lightning can strike even 60 miles away from the storm, and if it hits just 100 feet away, you can still feel the effects from it.
How long does a lightning last?
Lightning is not distributed evenly around Earth, as shown in the map. On Earth, the lightning frequency is approximately 44 (± 5) times per second, or nearly 1.4 billion flashes per year and the average duration is 0.2 seconds made up from a number of much shorter flashes (strokes) of around 60 to 70 microseconds.
Can humans travel at the speed of light?
So will it ever be possible for us to travel at light speed? Based on our current understanding of physics and the limits of the natural world, the answer, sadly, is no. So, light-speed travel and faster-than-light travel are physical impossibilities, especially for anything with mass, such as spacecraft and humans.
Is lightning the fastest thing on Earth?
It is light however, at approximately 670 million mph, which takes first place as the fastest thing in the world. Responsible for our sense of sight, light allows us to fully appreciate the world around us – whether we are experiencing life at super speeds or not.
What is faster than lightning?
The answer is Tachyons. They are super-charged particles that travel faster than the speed of light.
