How is lightning formed? Why do you see it before you hear the thunder?

Updated on science 2024-06-28
19 answers
  1. Anonymous users2024-02-12

    The formation of lightning is actually due to the air flow in the thunderstorm clouds, because of the friction of rain molecules and the decomposition of water molecules and produce a kind of static electricity, this electricity is divided into two types: a positive electricity, a negative electricity, and positive and negative charges are attracted to each other, so when these opposite charges meet, they will have an effect, so a large amount of light and heat will be released in the process of action, and then lightning is formed through the form of these electricity. <>

    We can see lightning with the naked eye, but the process of lightning is very complicated, if the thundercloud moves somewhere, then most of the cloud base is a strong negative charge, then in the cloud base is equivalent to a positive charge, then between the cloud and the ground is a very strong electric field, so it will form a linear lightning, very bright, and the form of lightning is also very diverse, like a branch of the river. <>

    The formation of lightning is when the high pressure breaks through the air, because the air instantly feels the heat, it produces light, which is also the reason for the formation of lightning, lightning is often accompanied by thunder, and the formation of thunder is because the air is heated and expands, thus generating sound waves. Lightning and thunder actually occur at the same time, but the speed of light propagation is greater than the speed of sound, so we generally see lightning first and then hear thunder. <>

    Light waves are electromagnetic waves, and sound is mechanical waves, these two waves are there certain differences, so it also determines that their propagation speed will be different, electromagnetic waves are high-frequency electrons radiated from atomic molecules, then they will produce high energy, and they do not need a medium to be able to propagate, so the light wave propagation speed is very fast, and sound is a mechanical wave, and the mechanical wave itself is generated by the vibration of the object, so it must rely on the propagation of the medium, if there is no medium, then it is difficult to hear the sound. <>

    Lightning is a natural phenomenon that can also have a bad impact on our lives, we should avoid lightning, because if it is struck by lightning, it will be life-threatening, so we should stay indoors during lightning, and at the same time avoid contact with conductive items close to lightning. When lightning occurs, don't use some live equipment, which can easily be struck by lightning.

  2. Anonymous users2024-02-11

    Because in the air, light travels fast and reaches the ground very quickly, while sound travels slowly in the air and only reaches the earth after a while. So you will hear the lightning first and then hear the thunder. In fact, lightning and thunder occur almost simultaneously.

    However, lightning is light, and the speed of light in the air is about 300,000 kilometers per second, while thunder is sound, and the speed of sound is about 340 meters per second, and the speed of light is nearly 900,000 times the speed of sound travel.

  3. Anonymous users2024-02-10

    Lightning is a phenomenon of electrical discharge that occurs between clouds and clouds. In the process of motion, the clouds produce electric charges, and these charges change dramatically, forming lightning. Lightning and thunder occur at the same time.

    As for the fact that we see lightning first and then hear thunder, it is because the speed at which light travels is different from the speed at which sound travels. Light travels relatively fast, so we see lightning first and then hear thunder.

  4. Anonymous users2024-02-09

    The cause of lightning is that when the sky is about to rain, the cumulonimbus clouds in the sky are very thick. The positive and negative charges in the clouds attract each other, but the air keeps them out. This is because light travels much faster than sound.

    Light travels almost 300,000 kilometers per second in the air, and at such a speed, it can travel seven and a half times around the Earth's equator in one second. Sound travels about 340 meters per second in the air, almost 1/900,000th of the speed of light.

  5. Anonymous users2024-02-08

    It is due to the phenomenon of strong electrical discharge between clouds, and then lightning is formed. Light travels faster than sound, so lightning is seen first and thunder is heard.

  6. Anonymous users2024-02-07

    In the summer, thunder and lightning are common, and thunder is always heard a few seconds to a dozen seconds after the lightning has passed. Why is that? Lightning is an electrical spark produced when the charge generated by the cloud during its motion is discharged when it is discharged, and it is both light and sound.

    In fact, lightning and thunder appear at the same time, and the reason why we see lightning first and then hear thunder is because in the air, light travels 3 million kilometers per second, while sound can only travel 1 kilometer in the air. The speed of sound is only one-900,000th the speed of light. Light travels fast and reaches the ground very quickly, while sound travels slowly in the air and travels to the earth after a while.

    So you will hear the lightning first and then hear the thunder. Thunder is reflected when it hits clouds or tall buildings, so it usually takes a while for a while to disappear after a lightning bolt.

  7. Anonymous users2024-02-06

    If it's a brain teaser, the eyes are in front of the ears. If it's a scientific problem, because light travels faster than sound, lightning and thunder are emitted at the same time, because of the speed of propagation, people always see lightning first, and then hear the sound of thunder

  8. Anonymous users2024-02-05

    Because the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound, according to the resolution of the 15th International Conference on Weights and Measures in 1975, the speed of light in a vacuum was set at c 299 792 458 m seconds. In the usual application, take more than c = 3 10 8 m sec.

    Electrons travel at a speed of 299,792,458 meters and seconds in a vacuum, which is about the size of the speed of light. However, the speed of electrons moving in a conductor is generally much lower than the speed of light because of the drag formed by matter. Because electrons have mass, the speed of movement of electrons in a vacuum can only be close to the speed of light, but not the speed of light.

    About the speed of electricity: The speed of propagation of light is the speed of movement of photons, while the speed of propagation of electricity refers to the speed of propagation of the electric field (some people say that it is the speed of propagation of electrical signals, but it is actually the same), not the speed of movement of electrons. The electrons in the wire can move a few meters per second (macroscopic velocity) which is already a very high velocity.

  9. Anonymous users2024-02-04

    Light travels faster than thunder.

  10. Anonymous users2024-02-03

    I don't know why this is happening?

  11. Anonymous users2024-02-02

    Actually, lightning and thunder occur at the same time, except that lightning is light and runs very fast, while thunder is sound and runs much slower. Because the speed of light is 300,000 kilometers per second, it can circle the earth seven and a half times in one minute; And the speed of sound in the air is about kilometers per second.

  12. Anonymous users2024-02-01

    It's a simple question. Because the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound, we see the flash point first and then hear the thunder.

  13. Anonymous users2024-01-31

    It's too cold, so tired, Lou Mingmin, oh, oh, oh, oh.

  14. Anonymous users2024-01-30

    The reason why lightning is seen first and then thunder is heard is that light travels much faster than the sound of the sound car.

    In thunderclouds, lightning and thunder occur at the same time. When lightning, the temperature in the convective cloud can reach about 1000, the gas will expand rapidly, the cloud droplets and rain will vaporize sharply, and the lightning will cool down quickly, and the air will produce a huge thunder when it vibrates strongly. The reason why people always see lightning first and hear thunder later is because light travels much faster than sound.

    According to the propagation velocity, the propagation speed of sound in the air is 340 meters per second; The speed at which light waves travel through the air is 300,000 kilometers per second. It can be seen that the speed of light waves in the air is much greater than that of sound. So we see lightning first, and then we hear thunder.

    Sometimes the thunder drags on for a long time, which is caused by clouds, mountain peaks and the ground reflecting the thunder back and forth.

    Similarities and differences between sound and light:

    Sound and light are both waves, that is, they are waves, and they both have the characteristics of waves, such as reflection, diffraction, interference, polarization, Doppler effect, standing waves, resonance, etc. In addition, there are many similarities between the methods used to study buried formulas and waves in mathematical tables that describe wave functions. The above are the similarities between the two.

    The difference between them is that sound is a mechanical wave, it needs to have a vibration source and a medium, sound is the propagation of mechanical vibration in the medium, the frequency of sound is related to the vibration source, the wave speed of sound is related to the medium, the sound wave source stops vibrating, the sound stops propagating, and there will be no sound in a vacuum. Light waves are electromagnetic waves, and their frequency is excited by the changing electric field, which in turn excites the changing electric field, propagating in space.

  15. Anonymous users2024-01-29

    The reason why lightning is seen first and then thunder is that the speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound.

    The speed of light is slower than that of a vacuum, but it is also close to 30 kilometers per second. And the speed of sound propagation is much slower. The speed at which sound travels through the air is 340 meters per second.

    Therefore, even when thunder strikes far away, the light emitted by lightning travels into our eyes instantaneously, and we simply do not feel the time it takes to propagate.

    Because light propagation does not require a medium, while sound propagation requires a medium, a vacuum cannot transmit sound. So, when it really happens in space, you can only see flashes of light, but you can't hear the sound. As you know, astronauts who land on the moon also need to speak face-to-face through a walkie-talkie, because there is no air on the moon, and the sound of human speech cannot be transmitted.

    Precautions for thunder and lightning weather

    People on the open ground or water surface will become the convex point of the plane where they are located and be struck by lightning, so do not play outdoor ball games, such as golf and football. Do not swim or do other water sports. Do not stay on the top of the mountain or high-rise platform during thunderstorms, and do not enter isolated sheds, sentry boxes, etc. in open areas.

    It is not advisable to take shelter from a thunderstorm under an isolated tree. The damp branches of a large tree are like a lightning channeling device, and if you hold the tree with your hands, it is as dangerous as touching a lightning rod with your hands. When thundering, it is best to keep a distance of 5 meters from the trunk of the tree, squat down and keep your legs together.

    If you don't have time to leave tall objects tomorrow morning, you should immediately find some dry insulation (non-metallic objects) and put them on the ground, and sit on them with your feet together, and never put your feet on the ground other than the insulation, because water conducts electricity.

  16. Anonymous users2024-01-28

    Have you ever noticed a natural phenomenon that on an evening when lightning and thunder roar, we will see lightning first, and then hear thunder!

    Thunder is a natural electrical discharge process that is a reaction of electrostatic release from charged clouds in the air. The lightning we see is an electrical spark from this reaction, where there is a very high temperature. The process of discharging is very fast, most of them are completed in less than a second, and the air at the location of the electric spark is heated at a very fast rate, resulting in a huge volume expansion.

    This rapid volume change can be likened to **, which is also due to the extremely rapid volume expansion that produces a detonation wave, from which a loud sound is generated.

    It can be seen that lightning and thunder, although they are produced in a sequential order, still occur almost at the same time. The reason why we see lightning and then hear thunder is because light travels much faster in the air than the speed of sound. So we usually see lightning first, and then we hear thunder.

    If you want to put it in one sentence: the eyes grow in front of the ears!

  17. Anonymous users2024-01-27

    This is a natural phenomenon. Because the speed of light is greater than the speed of sound, when lightning and thunder roar, we see lightning and hear thunder.

    Lightning is a phenomenon of intense electrical discharge between clouds, between clouds and the ground, or between parts of the cloud. Usually storm clouds (cumulonimbus clouds) produce electric charges, with yin electricity at the bottom and yang electricity at the top, and also a positive charge on the ground, which follows the clouds like a shadow. Positive and negative charges attract each other, but air is not a good conductor.

    Positive charges run toward trees, hills, the tops of tall buildings, and even on top of the human body, in an attempt to meet negatively charged clouds; The negatively charged branch-like antennae extend downwards and get closer to the ground as they go downward. Finally, the positive and negative charges finally overcome the air barrier and connect. A huge electric current surged from the ground to the clouds along a conductive airway, producing a bright and dazzling flash.

    Thunder occurs when a cumulonimbus cloud discharges. In a cumulonimbus cloud, there are usually three charged bodies, namely the top of the cloud is positively charged, the base of the cloud is negatively charged, and the area of the updraft at the base of the cloud is more strongly charged, and it flows with the cloud like a shadow, and the potential difference between them can reach 1000 kV meters. The phenomenon of electrical discharge occurs when clouds with heterogeneous charges are in close proximity to each other.

    During the discharge process, the negative charge passes through the air at a high speed and rubs against the air very much, thus generating a large amount of heat, which is generally about 10,000 degrees Celsius, which is more than double the temperature of the sun's surface. On the path of lightning, the air expands violently due to sudden heat and rushes in all directions at extremely high speeds, creating a shock wave that forms a huge sound wave, so that thunder is formed.

  18. Anonymous users2024-01-26

    It's a fact that no one invented this! Because light travels faster than sound, we basically see lightning first and then hear thunder!

  19. Anonymous users2024-01-25

    It is natural to see lightning and then hear thunder.

    The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound, so this phenomenon occurs.

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