I think, basically, what I'm asking, is if there is a term for thunder and lightning together - because they really happen at the same time; sound and light just travel at different speeds.
2006-07-05 04:40:36 · 11 answers · asked by goose 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
A storm.
2006-07-05 04:44:06 · answer #1 · answered by Robsthings 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Actually....thunder and lightening are not the same thing. Thunder is not the "sound effect" one hears from the flash of lightening. This is a common misconception. Lightning is the discharge of static electricity that builds up in cumulonimbus clouds. According to the National Weather Center, “When the difference between negative and positive charges becomes sufficiently strong, the normal insulating qualities of the air break down and a lightning bolt strikes.” As the electricity moves through the air, it superheats the gases in the air. Meteorologists define thunder as a “loud noise that occurs when atmospheric gases are suddenly heated by a discharge of lightning…thunder is made up of a series of sound vibrations caused by lightning strikes.”
So you see, thunder is the result of lightening, not the same as lightening.
2006-07-05 04:54:37 · answer #2 · answered by Pirate 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hmm, last I checked the English Language as typically spoken in America, "Lightning" was the generic name of the phenomena, and "thunder" was the sound it made. Other languages and cultures do approach this differently though.
If you wish to get technical about it though, it really is nothing more than *static electricity* on a massive scale. You rub your shoes on a carpet in dry weather, and zap a doorknob (and yourself) with a tiny wee bolt of lightning....
The atmosphere does much the same, rubbing up against trees and the ground (courtesy of gravity and the rotation of the earth mainly, with a little solar heat added on occasion) until the air gets dry enough to be properly conductive, and then you get sparks. Of static electricity. On a massive scale.
How massive? On average, anywhere in the world, lightning strikes the earth 100 times a second, 24/7/365....it's just a matter of a) knowing where, and b) realizing that the majority of these strikes are going to be out over the ocean.
2006-07-05 04:53:13 · answer #3 · answered by Bradley P 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well thunder and lightning are two different things. Lightning happens when two cloudes generate an electric arc that travels from the ground to the clouds, and thunder is the sound of the arc being formed at the clouds.
2006-07-05 04:47:48 · answer #4 · answered by Toxxikation 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A Thunder Storm!
2006-07-05 04:47:15 · answer #5 · answered by gamecock009 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Interesting thought....but I don't think we have any name for them together...but they are not the same. Thunder and lightning are two products of the "as-yet-unnamed" phenomenon. It IS a reaction involving electrons though....
2006-07-05 04:44:14 · answer #6 · answered by Tauba 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they are together, then you are too close!
Light travels at 186,282 miles per second.
Sound travels at about 1 mile (5,280 feet) per FIVE seconds.
That means when you see the lightning, count the seconds until you hear the thunder. If you count to five, it struck one mile away. If you count to ten, it struck two miles away, etc...
2006-07-05 21:43:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thunder is the sound lightening makes, just like a roar is the sound a lion makes or a honk is the sound a horn makes.
2006-07-05 04:42:49 · answer #8 · answered by effin drunk 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
High voltage electrical discharge to the earth
2006-07-05 05:01:08 · answer #9 · answered by Ron K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
how about the effect of electricity
2006-07-05 04:45:27 · answer #10 · answered by mtngrl7500 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋