How fast is lightning compared to light

On the figure, we show the sound waves that are generated by a lightning strike. How far has the wave moved from the lightning strike after 2 seconds? We can use a rate equation to solve this problem:. How far does it travel in 5 seconds? So, since the flash reaches our eyes instantly, if we count the number of seconds between the flash and when we hear the thunder, we can approximate the distance to the lightning strike:.

During a thunderstorm, bell ringers would run to the bell tower to ring the bells. However, a high tower with a metal bell was in fact about the worst place to be. Between and in France, bell-ringers were struck by lightning and killed, resulting in the custom being banned. The speed of lightning While the flashes we see as a result of a lightning strike travel at the speed of light ,, mph an actual lightning strike travels at a comparatively gentle , mph.

When lightning strikes a beach When lightning strikes sand or sandy soil, it fuses together the grains to create a small glass-like tube known as a fulgurite.

The most lightning-struck location in the world Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is the place on Earth that receives the most lightning strikes. That's as many as 40, lightning strikes in one night! Helicopters cause lightning Recent research from the Met Office revealed that helicopters can cause an isolated lightning strike. Investigating and predicting helicopter-triggered lightning strikes 5. That's around 44 strikes every second. Lightning destroys trees Trees can often be destroyed by lightning strikes.

But it can help plants grow While nitrogen is in the air all around us, for plants to be able to absorb it a process vital for their growth they rely on a process called Nitrogen fixation.

The width of a thumb and hotter than the sun While the intensity of a lightning strike can make them appear as thick bolts across the sky, the actual width of a lightning bolt is only about cm.

Volcanic lightning While lightning storms are impressive in their own right, they don't quite compare to the spectacle when volcanic eruptions trigger lightning strikes. Counting lightning To tell how far away a thunderstorm is, simply count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the boom of thunder that follows. And finally They are accelerated by a strong electric field, a consequence of the big voltage difference between the cloud and the ground.

They crash into air molecules on their way down and free other electrons, making a tube of ionized air.

The "leader", the first stroke of a lightning discharge, actually proceeds in steps -- lengthening by about 30 meters at a time, taking about a microsecond one millionth of a second to do each step. There is a pause between steps of about 50 microseconds. The whole process may take a few milliseconds one-thousanths of a second , providing enough time to perceive motion.