about 760 mph
.
Also asked, how fast is the sound of thunder?
Thunder travels at the speed of sound and has a value of about 340 meters per second. The speed of sound in air at sea level moves about 1 mile every 5 seconds. Thus, when you see the lightning count the seconds and divide by 5 to get the approximate distance that the sound of thunder originates from.
Similarly, how do you calculate the speed of lightning? Upon viewing a flash of lightning in the sky, count the number of seconds until you hear thunder. The formula is to divide the number of seconds by the speed of sound in feet per second. The delay between when you see lightning and when you hear thunder occurs because sound travels much, much slower than light.
Just so, how fast is a flash of lightning?
The return stroke (the current that cause the visible flash) moves upward at a speed of about 320,000,000 ft per second or about 220,000,000 miles per hour (about 1/3 the speed of light). In comparison, the sound of thunder travels at about 1100 ft per second or about 750 miles per hour.
What is faster than lightning?
Although light emitted from the lightning does travel at the speed of light, the actual developing lightning leaders, and the massive surge of current that you see as the actual lightning strike, only travel at 1% to 10% of the speed of light, so light is 10 - 100 times "faster" than lightning.
Related Question Answers
Is light faster than darkness?
Most of us already know that darkness is the absence of light, and that light travels at the fastest speed possible for a physical object. In this respect, darkness has the same speed as light. However, in some instances, darkness actually moves faster than light.What is the fastest thing in the universe?
Blazing Speed: The Fastest Stuff in the Universe. A sequence of radio observations shows a plasma blob moving away from a blazar's core (right) over about 8.4 months. SAN DIEGO -- If you're light, it's fairly easy to travel at your own speed -- that is to say 186,282 miles per second or 299,800 kilometers per second.How far away can thunder be heard?
about 10 miles
What is worse thunder or lightning?
Both occur at the same time during a thunderstorm, but since light travels faster than sound, lightning is seen first before one can hear the sound of thunder. Lightning is fast and very hot while thunder can usher in heavy rain and strong winds, but lightning is more dangerous and destructive than thunder.Is Thunder the sound of lightning?
Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending on the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble (brontide). In turn, this expansion of air creates a sonic shock wave, often referred to as a "thunderclap" or "peal of thunder".How far away is lightning without thunder?
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 do you time a storm?
Make it happen: - 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.
What does lightning sound like up close?
The air around the lightning bolt expands faster than the speed of sound, which creates a shock wave of thunder. When you're this close to the bolt, though, it sounds more like a bullet from a gun. These channels of negatively charged air are where the lightning travels from cloud to ground.Is lightning hotter than the sun?
Is Lightning Hotter Than the Sun? Yep, the answer is a bolt of lightning, which can reach temperatures of roughly 30,000 kelvins (53,540 degrees Fahrenheit). The sun, on the other hand, is eclipsed in this case - its surface temperature is just 6,000 kelvins (10,340 degrees Fahrenheit).Who's faster Flash or Quicksilver?
In terms of pure speed, in their respective universes, the Flash (Barry Allen) is faster, by far, than Quicksilver. Quicksilver has been seen at a top speed of four or five times the speed of sound (Mach 4 or 5). This level of speed for Quicksilver is new. He used to max out at Mach 1.Can lightning shoot upwards?
The answer is both. Cloud-to-ground lightning comes from the sky down, but the part you see comes from the ground up. A typical cloud-to-ground flash lowers a path of negative electricity (that we cannot see) towards the ground in a series of spurts. Objects on the ground generally have a positive charge.What is lightning made of?
Lightning is an electric current. Within a thundercloud way up in the sky, many small bits of ice (frozen raindrops) bump into each other as they move around in the air. All of those collisions create an electric charge. After a while, the whole cloud fills up with electrical charges.Can you have thunder without lightning?
No, it is not possible to have thunder without lightning. Thunder is a direct result of lightning. However, it IS possible that you might see lightning and not hear the thunder because it was too far away. Sometimes this is called “heat lightning” because it occurs most often in the summer.How far can sound travel in 10 seconds?
As you can see, the speed of sound changes depending on the temperature and the humidity; but if you want a round number, then something like 350 meters per second and 1,200 feet per second are reasonable numbers to use. So sound travels 1 kilometer in roughly 3 seconds and 1 mile in roughly 5 seconds.Why is thunder delayed?
Why is there a delay between lightning and thunder? The speed of light is about 186,282 miles per second. The speed of sound is about 0.211 miles per second at sea level. So the light from a lightning bolt reaches us many orders of magnitude faster than the compression wave it creates.How far away is lightning in kilometers?
For metric-system conversions, follow this method: Sound travels at about 340 m/s, so multiply the number of seconds you counted by 340, and you'll know how many meters away lightning struck. A three-second count, then, would place the lightning strike about 1,020 m away, or roughly 1 km.How far is sound in 15 seconds?
The speed of sound at 70 deg F is about 0.2 miles per second, so it take around five seconds for the sound to travel a mile. That works out to be 3 miles in 15 seconds. Using the metric system sound travels around 1/3 of a kilometer in 1 second or 3 seconds a kilometer.What is the voltage of lightning?
For one thing, the contact voltage of a typical industrial electrical shock is 20 to 63 kilovolts, while a lightning strike delivers about 300 kilovolts.Does electricity travel at the speed of light?
Light travels through empty space at 186,000 miles per second. The electricity which flows through the wires in your homes and appliances travels much slower: only about 1/100 th the speed of light. 
