How can you determine how far away a lightning stroke is??

What will be the ideal response?


ANSWER: Light travels so fast that you see light instantly after a lightning flash. But the sound of thunder, traveling at only about 330 m/sec (1100 ft/sec), takes much longer to reach your ear. If you start counting seconds from the moment you see the lightning until you hear the thunder, you can determine how far away the stroke is. Because it takes sound about 5 seconds to travel one mile, if you see lightning and hear the thunder 15 seconds later, the lightning stroke (and the thunderstorm) is about 3 miles away. When the lightning stroke is very close—on the order of 100 m (330 ft) or less—thunder sounds like a clap or a crack followed immediately by a loud bang. When it is farther away, it often rumbles. The rumbling can be due to the sound emanating from different areas of the stroke. Moreover, the rumbling is accentuated when the sound wave reaches an observer after having bounced off obstructions, such as hills and buildings.?

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

You might also like to view...

Which of the following statements regarding the range of net radiation values through the year is correct?

A.) The net radiation values along the Tropic of Cancer range from -100 W/m2 to 150 W/m2. B.) The Sahara is always a region of net radiation surplus. C.) Antarctica is a region of net radiation surplus values during its summer. D.) The values along the equator range from -50 W/m2 to 50 W/m2. E.) The values along the U.S.-Canadian border range from -150 W/m2 to 25 W/m2.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

The theory of continental drift was first presented in 1912 by Alfred Wegener

Indicate whether the statement is true or false

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

About when did glaciers on the highest mountains and in Greenland begin melting more rapidly?

a. ?1700 b. ?1900 c. ?1930 d. ?1960 e. ?1980

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Initial temperature, the size of the intrusion, the fluid content of the magma, and the nature of the country rock are important factors in ____ metamorphism

A)fault B)contact C)divergent D)convergent E)conductive

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences