Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Weather forecast - Is it because the eyes react faster than the ears when they see lightning first and then hear thunder in thunderstorm weather?

Is it because the eyes react faster than the ears when they see lightning first and then hear thunder in thunderstorm weather?

Although they produce lightning and thunder at the same time, light travels much faster than sound, so we see lightning first and then hear it. Thunderstorms usually occur in summer. When it rains, lightning and thunder are shocking. We know that when the electric field between the positive and negative charge areas in a thunderstorm reaches a certain level, the two charges will neutralize each other to produce sparks, and when the sparks are discharged, they will produce strong light, which is lightning.

It produces high temperature in the path of light, which makes the surrounding air suddenly expand due to high temperature, and because of high temperature, the cloud drops suddenly evaporate and expand, making a huge noise, which is thunder. Lightning and thunder happen at the same time, so why do we always see lightning first and then hear thunder? This is because light travels much faster than sound.

The speed of sound in the air is only 340 meters per second, while the speed of light in the air is 300,000 kilometers per second, which is 900,000 times the speed of sound. It usually takes only a few hundred thousand seconds for light to travel from the place where lightning occurs to the ground, but it takes a long time for sound to travel this distance. So, we will see lightning first, and then hear thunder. According to this common sense, we can use the time of seeing lightning and hearing thunder to calculate how far the emission cloud is from us.

Sometimes we can only see lightning but not thunder, because the discharge cloud is too far away or the thunder is not loud enough. When it spreads, its energy becomes smaller and smaller, and the speed of light propagation in the air is almost 300 thousand kilometers per second. At this speed, it can run seven and a half times around the equator in one second. In the range of about 340 meters, the speed of sound per second is almost only 900 thousand, which is divided into one.

Let's call it a day. If you have other different ideas and opinions, you can share your personal opinions in the comments section below. Those who like me can pay attention to it. Finally, I wish you all the best.