What causes thunder?

Answer 1

OK, here is the cause of thunder:

As ice crystals become too heavy to stay suspended in a cloud, they begin to fall toward the ground. Since there are so many little ice crystals, they sometimes collide in what are called glancing collisions. These glancing collisions create an electrical imbalance in the cloud, and makes the bottom of the cloud negatively charged. The positive charges on the ground are attracted to the negative charges in the cloud, and they tend to pile up on the tallest object on the ground (this is why you don't want to be the tallest this in the area during a thunderstorm. it's also why so many trees get struck).
Once the positive charges and negative charges meet, a faint zig-zaggy line is formed in between them. This is called a stepped-leader.
Next, the super-heated air is seen as a flash (lightning) and transformed by your ears into a rumble (thunder).

Hope this is the info you need. Have a great day! =D

Answer 2

Thunder is caused by lightning. The sound is made as the air around the lightning bolt rapidly heats and cools. The air around a lightning strike is heated to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (27,500 C), as the air cools it causes a shock wave to occur known as thunder. The closer the lightning is, the louder the clap of thunder will be. You can think of thunder as nature's way of warning you to take cover to avoid being struck by lightning.

Over 100,000 thunderstorms are recorded every year but only a small percentage is considered 'severe' by the National Weather Service. Thunderstorms are capable of producing tornados, strong winds, hail and heavy rain, which can lead to flash flooding.

The following tips are recommended if you hear thunder in the distance.

If outside, take cover in a building or inside a car. If this is not possible, find a clear area and squat as close to the ground as possible. Never seek shelter under trees or near power lines, telephone lines, or fences. Avoid contact with metal items such as golf clubs and bicycles as these can attract the lightning.
If inside, stay off the telephone and away from electrical appliances. Avoid bathing or doing dishes as metal pipes can serve as a conduit for the electrical charge from the lightning.
If in a car, pull to the side of the road with your emergency lights on, until the storm subsides. Be sure not to park beneath trees or other tall structures.

No home should be without a weather radio. These are inexpensive. Purchase a battery-operated weather radio so you can be updated instantly during severe weather. It is recommended you have one both in your home and in your vehicles.

Answer 3

Thunder is caused by the rapid expansion and contraction of the air surrounding the lighting bolt. On average, a lightning bolt is about 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun. That's about 50,000°F! This causes the air around the lightning bolt to become super heated and as a result, the air rapidly expands. However, the air doesn't stay super heated for long and quickly dissipates it's heat. In doing so, it rapidly contracts. It's this rapid expansion and contraction that creates a compression wave we know as thunder. Contrary to what some may thing, thunder is not caused by the lightning bolt "breaking the sound barrier".

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Answer 4

You must have observed ...before you hear the sound of thunder you first will see the lightning (night time you can clearly see)...
In fact when the black clouds when becomes charged bodies
(Either excess or defficient of electrons it tries to neutralise by
attracting the protons) thus Negetively charged body attracts the positively charged body ) which when comes to the proximity of each other it gives a high spark and a bang. This sparkling light is called lightning and the bang is called thunder. As the speed of light is higher than that of sound.. you will see the lightning first followed by the sound of thunder.

Answer 5

Thunder is caused by lightning. The sound is made as the air around the lightning bolt rapidly heats and cools. The air around a lightning strike is heated to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (27,500 C), as the air cools it causes a shock wave to occur known as thunder. The closer the lightning is, the louder the clap of thunder will be. You can think of thunder as nature's way of warning you to take cover to avoid being struck by lightning.

Over 100,000 thunderstorms are recorded every year but only a small percentage is considered 'severe' by the National Weather Service. Thunderstorms are capable of producing tornados, strong winds, hail and heavy rain, which can lead to flash flooding.

Answer 6

Exchange of charges set up an explosion in the atmosphere, we hear it as thunder.

Example:

Take a dry cell and carefully take it outside and short it at night you will see a spark that, like is a lightening, you will hear a spatter that is like a thunder. Dry cell is only 1.5 volt but clouds can carry million or even billions of volts, so resulting noise is much louder and spark is much stronger.

In the factories it can be any thing depending on the equipment(1000's of volts).

When you have short circuit in your house it is much louder, in India it is at 250 volt in USA it is at 110 volt or 250 volt. Now you get some idea about the magnitude of the events.

Answer 7

When a bolt of lightning shoots through the atmosphere, it heats the air to an amazing 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit in a fraction of a second. The superheated air rapidly expands, cools and then contracts, causing shock waves. These shock waves create sound waves, which we hear as thunder..

Answer 8

uhh.. lightning duh
its a sonic wave in the air
a bunce of air gets super heated instantly and expands outward forcefully leaving sort of a vacume for a moment then air rushes back there a moment later. like smcking your hand on a lake displaces water suddenly causing a ripple... and possibly a smacking sound as the concusion also makes ripple in the air that you ear picks up as sound

Answer 9

Lightening suddenly heats up the air, and causes an explosion as the air quickly expands out, and a lingering rumble as the air cools off and rushes back.

Answer 10

The simple answer is "lightning." The sound of lightning is thunder. Since light travels faster than sound, you see it first and then you hear it.

The cause of lightning is still not completely known. There are several theories that you can read about on the source link (below.)