Why Lightning Before Thunder?
Why does lightning happen a few seconds before thunder? State the logic behind it.
Why Lightning Before Thunder?
Let us first discuss how thunder and lightning are 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. A cloud develops protons, and it now starts to attract oppositely charged protons from the ground, trees, mountains, and 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 the speed of light and speed of sound. The speed with which light travels is much higher than the speed with which sound travels. The speed of light in air is 3*10(to the power 8) m/sec, whereas the speed of sound in air is approximately 334m/sec (depending on the temperature), which is much lower than that of light. Thus we the lightning is seen much before the sound is heard.
– Written By Manpreet
First, let’s talk about what lightning is and how it occurs. As we all are familiar with lightning, we know it is a flash of light accompanied by a loud sound. It can also cause the death of 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 present in the surrounding starts moving upwards and they have a collision with the water droplets present in the environment. These droplets become the carriers of the electric charge. The rubbing together of these water droplets causes 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 noticed that the lightning occurs first, and then you sound comes a few seconds afterwards. This phenomenon is due to the 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 lightning.
– Written By Soniya Sanyal
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