Archive -> May 9, 2007

Lightning

Unbeknown to many, by the time you see lightning hit the ground, it is not actually coming down, but going back up. Do a little research, and you will see, that because sound travels slower than light, thunder is heard after the lightning is seen.

The distance between a person and the lightning bolt can be estimated by counting the number of seconds between (viewing) the lightning and (hearing) the thunder. The light reaches the person almost immediately, but sound travels about 1.6 km (about 1 mile) every 5 seconds, which can often be heard from more than 24 km (15 miles) away. The lightning bolt does not hit the ground at a straight angle, it hits vertically, so you will not hear the thunder sound at the same time; the sound from different angles of the bolt reaches the person at different times.

Excerpted from The Book Of Light by Dr. Malachi Z. York