Does lightning make noise?
This rapid expansion and contraction creates the sound wave that we hear as thunder. Although a lightning discharge usually strikes just one spot on the ground, it travels many miles through the air. The loud boom that you sometimes hear is created by the main lightning channel as it reaches the ground.
What causes the noise from lightning?
However, the grumbles and growls we hear in thunderstorms actually come from the rapid expansion of the air surrounding the lightning bolt. As the heated air expands, the pressure drops, the air cools, and it contracts. The result is a shock wave, with a loud, booming burst of noise sent in every direction.
What does a lightning storm sound like?
With nearby lightning strikes the thunder will sound like a loud bang, crack or snap and its duration will be very short. As the shock wave propagates away from the strike center, it stretches, diminishes, and becomes elongated. Then other shock waves from more distance locations arrive at the listener.
Why does thunder sound like a bomb?
The sound originates at the lightning. The superheated air rapidly expands and then collapses back into itself, that rapid expansion and collapse is the source of the sound. If that happened at one spot, then all the sound would reach your ears at the same time and you would hear a single explosion.
How does lightning happen in sky?
Lightning is an electrical discharge caused by imbalances between storm clouds and the ground, or within the clouds themselves. Most lightning occurs within the clouds. This heat causes surrounding air to rapidly expand and vibrate, which creates the pealing thunder we hear a short time after seeing a lightning flash.
Can you hear light?
No. You can’t hear light. You could hear the sound caused by some phenomenon caused by light; lightning perhaps; but you can’t hear light.
Can you hear lightning sizzle?
What does a lightning strike sound like? – Quora. Originally Answered: How can you describe the sound of a lightning strike? If you’re close to the strike, you may hear a brief sizzling noise, as descending conductive plasma channels, called leaders, propagate from the cloud towards ground.
Why is there lightning without a storm?
What is dry lightning? Dry lightning is lightning that occurs without rain nearby. These lightning flashes have been documented to travel several miles away from the thunderstorm cloud. They can be especially dangerous because they appear to come from clear blue sky.
What comes first thunder or lightning?
If we are watching the sky, we see the lightning before we hear the thunder. That is because light travels much faster than sound waves. We can estimate the distance of the lightning by counting how many seconds it takes until we hear the thunder. It takes approximately 5 seconds for the sound to travel 1 mile.
Is it normal to hear lights?
Scientists discover a rare condition in which people hear flashes of light. Aug. 20, 2008— — Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have discovered a new form of synesthesia, a rare but benign condition in which some people see the world quite differently than the rest of us.