How Fast Does The Sound Of Thunder Travel Per Second?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

, , , ,

Thunder travels much slower, at the speed of sound, about

1088 feet per second

. It takes sound about 5 seconds to travel one mile.

Does sound travel 1 mile per second?

In air at a temperature of 70° F (22.2° C), sound travels at a speed of about 1,129 feet (344 meters) per second, which is roughly equivalent to

one-fifth of a mile in one second

, or one mile in five seconds (or one kilometer in about three seconds).

Is lightning as fast as light?

While the flashes we see as a result of a lightning strike travel at the speed of light (670,000,000 mph)

an actual lightning strike travels at a comparatively gentle 270,000 mph

.

Which is faster lightning or sound?

Lightning and thunder happen at the same time. But you see lightning before you hear thunder because

light, which travels a million times faster than sound

, arrives almost instantly. Sound, on the other hand, takes about five seconds to travel one mile.

How fast does sound travel?

Sound can travel in air at approximately

332 metres per second

. This is fast but not nearly as fast as light which travels at 300 000 kilometres per second. This difference in speeds enables us to appreciate that sound does take time to travel.

How many miles per second is lightning and thunder?

If you count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder, and then divide by 5, you’ll get the distance in miles to the lightning:

5 seconds = 1 mile, 15 seconds = 3 miles

, 0 seconds = very close. Keep in mind that you should be in a safe place while counting.

How far can sound travel in 5 seconds?

So sound travels 1 kilometer in roughly 3 seconds and

1 mile

in roughly 5 seconds.

How far is a storm when you hear thunder?

A general rule of thumb to know how far off a bolt of lightning is when you hear thunder,

if you count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder, and then divide by 5, you’ll get the distance in miles to the lightning

: 5 seconds = 1 mile, 15 seconds = 3 miles, 0 seconds = very close.

What is the fastest thing in the universe?


Light

travels about 186,270 miles (more than seven times the circumference of Earth) in one second. In modern physics, light is regarded as the fastest thing in the universe, and its velocity in empty space as a fundamental constant of nature.

Is lightning hotter than the sun?

In fact, lightning can heat the air it passes through to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (

5 times hotter than the surface of the sun

). When lightning strikes a tree, the heat vaporizes any water in its path possibly causing the tree to explode or a strip of bark to be blown off.

Is anything faster than light?

Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity famously dictates that

no known object can travel faster than the speed of light in vacuum

, which is 299,792 km/s. This speed limit makes it unlikely that humans will ever be able to send spacecraft to explore beyond our local area of the Milky Way.

Does bullet travel faster than sound?

When bullets fly through the air, they do so at amazing speeds. The fastest bullets travel more than 2,600 feet per second. That’s equivalent to over 1,800 miles per hour. To put that in perspective, it’s amazing to realize that

bullets travel over twice the speed of sound

!

Is light faster than darkness?


Darkness travels at the speed of light

. More accurately, darkness does not exist by itself as a unique physical entity, but is simply the absence of light. Any time you block out most of the light – for instance, by cupping your hands together – you get darkness.

How long does it take sound to travel 1 mile?

The speed of sound changes depending on temperature and humidity but one can estimate that sound travels 1 mile in roughly

5 seconds

.

Where does sound travel fastest?

Sound waves can only travel through a solid, liquid or gas medium. They travel fastest

in solids

, then liquids and slowest in gases.

Is the speed of sound fast?

However, the speed of sound varies from substance to substance: typically,

sound travels most slowly in gases, faster in liquids, and fastest in solids

. For example, while sound travels at 343 m/s in air, it travels at 1,481 m/s in water (almost 4.3 times as fast) and at 5,120 m/s in iron (almost 15 times as fast).

How long can sound waves travel?

The speed of the sound wave is 340 m/s. The distance can be found using d = v • t resulting in an answer of

25.5 m

. Use 0.075 seconds for the time since 0.150 seconds refers to the round-trip distance.

How long for the thunder to be heard if it strikes 12 km away from your location?

After you see a flash of lightning, count the number of seconds until you hear the thunder. (Use the stop watch or count “One-Mississippi, Two-Mississippi, Three-Mississippi,” etc.)

For every 5 seconds the storm is one mile away

. Divide the number of seconds you count by 5 to get the number of miles.

How many feet does sound travel in a second?

The speed of sound through the atmosphere is a constant that depends on the daily temperature. On a standard day at sea level static conditions, the speed of sound is about 760 mph, or

1100 feet/second

.

How fast does sound travel through concrete?

Solid Speed of Sound (m/s) Longitudal Shear Concrete

3700


3200
Constantan 5177 2625 Copper, annealed 4760 2325

How fast does light travel in a vacuum per second?

The speed of light traveling through a vacuum is exactly

299,792,458 meters (983,571,056 feet) per second

. That’s about 186,282 miles per second — a universal constant known in equations as “c,” or light speed.

Can there be thunder without lightning?


No, it is not possible to have thunder without lightning

. Thunder starts as a shockwave from the explosively expanding lightning channel when a large current causes rapid heating. However, it is possible that you might see lightning and not hear the thunder because it was too far away.

What is the farthest thunder can be heard?

Thunder can be heard up to

25 miles

away, and lightning strikes have been documented to occur as far as 25 miles from thunderstorms – known as a “bolt from the blue.” So if you can hear thunder, you’re close enough to be hit by lightning, and sheltering indoors or in an enclosed car is your safest bet.

How loud is lightning right next to you?

A clap of thunder typically registers at about

120 dB

in close proximity to the ground stroke. This is 10 times louder than a garbage truck or pneumatic jackhammer drill. By comparison, sitting in front of speakers at a rock concert can expose you to a continuous 120+ dB level.

David Evans
Author
David Evans
David is a seasoned automotive enthusiast. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering and has a passion for all things related to cars and vehicles. With his extensive knowledge of cars and other vehicles, David is an authority in the industry.