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Thunder is the shockwave radiating away from the strike path. When the air heats up, it expands rapidly, creating a compression wave that propagates through the surrounding air. This compression wave manifests itself in the form of a sound wave. That does not mean that thunder is harmless. On the contrary, if you are close enough, you can feel the shockwave as it shakes the surroundings. Keep in mind that when a nuclear explosion occurs, typically the most destruction is caused by the energy of the rapidly moving shockwave. In fact, the shockwave that produces the thunder from a lightning strike can most certainly damage structures and people. This danger is more prominent when you are close to the strike, because the shockwave is stronger there and will dampen (decrease) with distance. Physics teaches us that sound travels much slower than light, so we see the flash before we hear the thunder. In air, sound travels roughly 1 mile every 4.5 seconds. Light travels at a blazing 186,000 miles (299,000 kilometers) per second.
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∙ 15y ago
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∙ 6y agoYou don't....... You always will see lightning before you hear thunder unless the storm it came from is very very far away, which would mean that the thunder would b extremly loud.
The lightning moves so fast you cant realy hear the thunder, but it is there
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoBecause the lightning is just to far away from us. When the sound waves first start to travel, they have lots of energy, so the peaks are tightly packed. As the sound waves travel farther, they start to lose energy. When the waves lose all of their energy, they are flat. The reason you cannot hear the thunder is because the sound waves did not have enough energy to reach your ears.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoThe speed of light is faster than the speed of sound. So when lightning occurs, you can see it sooner than you then hear it. The further away you are from the lightning, the longer it takes for you to hear it. If lightning occurs right near you, you see the flash and hear the thunder at the same time.
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∙ 10y agoIt is too far away to be heard. Generally speaking, you can't hear thunder that is generated more than 10 miles (16 km) away.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoYes. The Lightning is too Far away to see.
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∙ 11y agohello
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Can you see thunder or lightning?
You see lighting and hear thunder.
Why they don't see the lightning and hear the thunder at the same time?
because light travels faster than sound an amazing 300000 km/s. this is why we can see lightning vefore we hear thunder
Can Lightning and thunder occur simultaneously?
No. Thunder is the result of lightning when it hits the ground. After lightning hits the ground the air expands (because of the increase in temp.) and quickly condenses. That air condensing is what we hear when there is thunder. Because light travels faster than sound we see lightning then hear thunder.
Why do thunder and lightning arrive at different times?
You will see the lightning before you hear the thunder because light travels faster than sound (:
If you see lightning and didn't here thunder what dose that mean?
You saw heat lightning then. Heat lightning is to far away to hear
Why do you see thunder after you see the flash of lightning?
You don't see thunder. You hear thunder. You hear thunder after seeing the lightning because light travels faster than sound. The further the storm away is, the bigger the time between when you see the lightning and hear the thunder.
Can you see thunder or lightning?
You see lighting and hear thunder.
Do you see or hear lightning?
You see the lightening, and hear the thunder.
Why do you often hear thunder when you see lightning?
Thunder is always heard after lightning flashes. The sounds from thunder can be heard from miles away, but you can see lightning and NOT hear thunder. Never the other way around.
How come you see lighting and do not hear it and how come you hear thunder and do not see it?
You see lightning before you hear it because light moves faster than sound. Thunder comes from the lightning. You can't hear it until the sound waves reach you.
Is thunder the same as lightning?
Thunder and lightning occur roughly at the same time during a thunderstorm, but they are different things. Typically you see the lightning first and then you hear the thunder.
Why they don't see the lightning and hear the thunder at the same time?
because light travels faster than sound an amazing 300000 km/s. this is why we can see lightning vefore we hear thunder
Why do you see lightning before you see thunder in terms of wave theory?
You see lightning first because light travels faster then sound.Also, you don't see thunder - you hear it.
Can Lightning and thunder occur simultaneously?
No. Thunder is the result of lightning when it hits the ground. After lightning hits the ground the air expands (because of the increase in temp.) and quickly condenses. That air condensing is what we hear when there is thunder. Because light travels faster than sound we see lightning then hear thunder.
How do you hear thunder?
lightning heats the air which we hear as thunder
Why do thunder and lightning arrive at different times?
You will see the lightning before you hear the thunder because light travels faster than sound (:
Why is there a delay between the lightning an thunder?
There is a delay between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder because the speed of light (lightning) is much faster than the speed of sound (thunder). Thus, you SEE lightning first, and then you HEAR thunder later.
