2006-07-05 15:11:49 · 16 answers · asked by rrobinlb 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Higher Education (University +)
Actually they happen at the same exact moment but since the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound you see the lightning before you hear the thunder. The closer or farther the gap between lightning and thunder means the closer or farther away the storm is from you.
2006-07-05 15:15:30 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you think in terms of the conservation on energy, then the LIGHT from the Lightning and the SOUND that Lightning makes (Thunder), both require Energy.
This Energy is derived from the Lightning itself which is a discharge of electrons from the Clouds to the Earth. To understand this better, imagine you are trying to switch (throw switch) on a light bulb. If you throw the switch very quickly, there is very little loss of electrical energy. However, if you throw the switch very slowly, you may get arcing and hear sounds of sparks when the throw switch just about to make contact. This principle is used in Carbon-Arc Welding by using a high arc voltage and high current.
Every lightning discharge, is achieved by having the electrons finding the shortest possible route based upon the High Electrical potential that had been built up in the clouds. So, with variations in the Voltage and the resistance of the "conductor" (air, earth, trees, water vapor, lightning rod, etc), Each lightning bolt may be of different intensity and character. Some will be brighter, louder and some would be less dramatic. Further, depending on the distance you are away from the lightning, the volume of the thunder would be different relative to the distance the sound has traveled. The further, the softer it will be.
Putting all these factors into the equation, we can conclude that every lightning would always be accompanied with thunder, although the thunder may not be heard by you if it becomes too soft when it reaches you. This is due to two reasons, the first, is distance and the other is whether the thunder created by the lightning was a loud one in the first place.
2006-07-05 22:48:06 · answer #2 · answered by ideaquest 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thunder is the sound made when lightning super heats (vaporizes) the air. The thunder you hear is the sound of the air rushing in to fill the vacuum left by the lightning strike.
So yes you will always have thunder with lightning. It just may be that the lightning strike is too far away for you to hear the thunder.
If a tree falls in the woods but no one is around to witness the event, does it make a sound?
2006-07-06 12:31:54 · answer #3 · answered by Christina 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thunder is the sound of the shockwave caused during a thunderstorm when lightning rapidly heats and expands the air in and directly around the lightning channel (bolt) into plasma, producing acoustic shock waves in the atmosphere indentified as thunder. It is said that the air is heated up to 30 000 °C (54 000 °F). This phenomenon happens at the same time (lightning strike/air expansion thunderclap), but we hear thunder after we see lightning due to the simple fact that light travels at a faster speed than sound. At a close enough distance to the actual lighting strike point, both sound and light can be heard/seen simultaneously. The exact mechanism is poorly understood.
2006-07-05 22:16:52 · answer #4 · answered by highlander44_tx 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends upon the strength of the static electrical surge. The thunder is though a direct relationship to how far or near the storm is. You can tell this by counting seconds in between the lightning then thunder. If the seconds are less and less as time goes by then the storm is moving closer to your area.
So you can see lightning in the far distance and not hear it, to answer your question.
2006-07-05 22:18:38 · answer #5 · answered by Rohan B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually because thunder is the noise lightning creates but sometimes the sound is too distant to hear but you can see the lightning.
2006-07-05 22:14:33 · answer #6 · answered by J G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On some hot, humid summer nights around here, you can get something called heat lightning. It's a flash of lightning in the sky, but no thunderstorms around.
2006-07-05 22:16:50 · answer #7 · answered by Brian 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not when thunder has been out drinking all night, then lightning gets mad and locks thunder out.
2006-07-05 22:15:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think so...otherwise they little trick to see how far off a storm is by counting between lightning strike and thunder wouldn't work. :)
2006-07-05 22:16:18 · answer #9 · answered by achs_reject 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
lightnight produces thunder....you may not always see it.
when lightning cuts through the air it seperates it...when the air comes crashing back together you hear the sound we know as thunder
2006-07-05 22:15:33 · answer #10 · answered by RunningOnMT 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋