2006-11-11 01:15:22 · 8 answers · asked by rhyan192003 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The lightning comes first. Lightning is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun, so the air around it is superheated and expands rapidly, creating almost a vacuum. As the lighning dissapates, the pressure around the area immediately fills the vacuum due to the great pressure gradient. Whenever there is a sudden change in pressure, shock waves are created that make audible sounds. Just as in a gun shot or a balloon popping, the sudden increase and decrease in pressure cause a loud shockwave that can be heard for miles.
2006-11-11 07:41:39 · answer #1 · answered by Spaghetti Cat 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lightning originates around 15,000 to 25,000 feet above sea level when raindrops are carried upward until some of them convert to ice. For reasons that are not widely agreed upon, a cloud-to-ground lightning flash originates in this mixed water and ice region. The charge then moves downward in 50-yard sections called step leaders. It keeps moving toward the ground in these steps and produces a channel along which charge is deposited. Eventually, it encounters something on the ground that is a good connection. The circuit is complete at that time, and the charge is lowered from cloud to ground.
The return stroke is a flow of charge (current) which produces a luminosity much brighter than the part that came down. This entire event usually takes less than half a second.
Thunder is caused by lightning. The bright light of the lightning flash caused by the return stroke mentioned above represents a great deal of energy. This energy heats the air in the channel to above 50,000 degrees F in only a few millionths of a second! The air that is now heated to such a high temperature had no time to expand, so it is now at a very high pressure. The high pressure air then expands outward into the surrounding air compressing it and causing a disturbance that propagates in all directions away from the stroke. The disturbance is a shock wave for the first 10 yards, after which it becomes an ordinary sound wave, or thunder.
Thunder can seem like it goes on and on because each point along the channel produces a shock wave and sound wave.
2006-11-11 01:33:08 · answer #2 · answered by veerabhadrasarma m 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
At the moment lightning strikes, a soundwave is omitted. The speed of light is nearly 300,000 km/s while the speed of sound is about 340 m/s. So the lightning is sort of immediately visible and the sound of the thunder takes about three seconds to overlap a kilometer. You can count from the moment you see the lightning until you hear the thunder; divide by three and know the distance to it in kilometres.
2006-11-11 02:38:46 · answer #3 · answered by lifekicker 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A bolt of lightning changes the air into plasma and it instantly explodes which causes the sound known as a thunder clap. So...the lightning comes first.
2006-11-11 01:30:10 · answer #4 · answered by Ms. G. 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
lightning first. because thunder is the sound caused by superheated air due to the hot lightning bolt.
you cant hear the car crash until the car crashes. simple.
2006-11-11 01:18:48 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Lightning. The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound.
2006-11-11 01:19:44 · answer #6 · answered by diane_b_33594 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
thunder because sound is faster than light.
2006-11-11 01:20:01 · answer #7 · answered by uknowme 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
lighting
2006-11-11 02:13:29 · answer #8 · answered by Naveen 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋