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Why lightning happens few seconds before thunder? State the logic behind it.
Why lightning happens few seconds before thunder? State the logic behind it.
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This discussion was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by
Kidpid.
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This discussion was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by
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2 Replies
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Let us first discuss how thunder and lightning is caused?
When two oppositely charged ions – positive and negative charges come in contact with each other, they balance themselves with a flash of light, known as lightning. Basically, a cloud develops protons and it now starts to attract oppositely charged protons from the ground, trees, mountains, sometimes people too. Once an attraction is made, it is represented through a flash of light. Thunder is the rumble of this lightning bolt. It is nothing but the sound of the charges vibrating.
Coming to your question, we see the flash of light much before the sound of thunder. This is due to the variation in speed of light and speed of sound. The speed with which light travels is much higher than the speed with which sound travels. Speed of light in air is 3*10(to the power 8) m/sec whereas speed of sound in air is approximately 334m/sec (depending on the temperature) that is much lower than that of light. Thus we the lightning much before the sound is heard.
I hope this answer helps.
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First let’s talk about what is lightning how does it occur? As we all are familiar to lightning, we know it is a flash of light accompanied by a loud sound. It can also cause death of the people or other living organisms.
Lightning occurs due to the phenomenon of rubbing. It happens when two oppositely charged ions rub against each other to produce electric currents. When a storm occurs the air air present in the surrounding starts moving upwards and they have a collision with the water droplets present in the environment. This droplets become the careers of the electric charge. The rubbing together of these water droplets cause the charge to glow and produce electric currents. Lightning occurs between two oppositely charged clouds or between a cloud and the ground.
It is always notice that the lightning occurs first and then you sound come a few second afterwards. This phenomenon is due to a simple fact that light travels faster than sound in air. The speed of light is the fastest in the air and cannot be matched. It is 3×10( to the power of 8) and therefore we can hear the sound after the lightening.
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