Is thunder a sonic boom?

Thunder is a result of the rapid expansion of super heated air caused by the extremely high temperature of lightning. As a lightning bolt passes through the air, the air expands faster than the speed of sound, generating a "sonic boom".

What type of noise is thunder?

Regardless of whether lightning is positive or negative, thunder is produced the same way. Thunder is the acoustic shock wave resulting from the extreme heat generated by a lightning flash. Lightning can be as hot as 54,000 °F (30,000 °C ), a temperature that is five times the surface of the sun!

Why does thunder sound like a bomb?

The sudden heating causes the surrounding air to expand violently and creates big sound waves, like what happens in a bomb explosion, along the entire length of the lightning bolt. We usually hear a loud boom followed by several seconds of rumble.

What are examples of sonic booms?

The crack of a supersonic bullet passing overhead or the crack of a bullwhip are examples of a sonic boom in miniature. Sonic booms due to large supersonic aircraft can be particularly loud and startling, tend to awaken people, and may cause minor damage to some structures.

Does thunder go boom?

At large distances from the center, the shock wave (thunder) can be many miles across. The shock wave is greatly elongated. To the listener, it is the combination of the millions of shock waves that gives thunder the continuous booming/rumbling sound we hear.

The sonic boom problem - Katerina Kaouri

What is thunder so loud?

Why is thunder so loud? It's because the amount of electrical energy that flows from the cloud to the ground is so enormous: it's like a very big waterfall of electricity. The louder the sound that you hear, the closer you are to the lightning. Light travels through air much faster than sound.

What does it mean when thunder is really loud?

Typically, a sharp crack or click will indicate that the lightning channel passed nearby. If the thunder sounds more like a rumble, the lightning was at least several miles away. The loud boom that you sometimes hear is created by the main lightning channel as it reaches the ground.

Are gunshots sonic booms?

Most bullets make small sonic booms when flying through the air, which to our ears sound like a loud, distinct “crack!” For the Pentagon's special forces, that makes it hard to be sneaky about what they're shooting.

Can humans hear sonic booms?

If you're WONDERing about how pilots handle sonic booms, they actually don't hear them. They can see the pressure waves around the plane, but people on board the airplane can't hear the sonic boom. Like the wake of a ship, the boom carpet unrolls behind the airplane.

What is the loudest sonic boom?

The strongest sonic boom ever recorded was 144 pounds per square foot and it did not cause injury to the researchers who were exposed to it. The boom was produced by a F-4 flying just above the speed of sound at an altitude of 100 feet.

Can thunder sound like a gunshot?

The sound is the air being heated to 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit. 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.

Why does loud thunder scare me?

Experts don't know exactly what causes astraphobia. For some people, a traumatic childhood event during a storm can lead to astraphobia. You're also more likely to develop astraphobia if a parent or sibling has the condition. Sometimes, people develop astraphobia for no known reason.

Can thunder shake a house?

At first, there is a sharp boundary between the initial shock wave and the air in front of it, which gives the startling boom of thunder. If you are close enough to experience that boundary, your house will certainly shake.

What sounds like thunder but isn't thunder?

Skyquakes

Skyquakes are mysterious booms from the sky – but are not thunder. Skyquakes are another sound heard around the world. From the River Ganges in India to the Sea of Japan, these mysterious booms sound like cannon fire rumbling down from the sky.

Is thunder the loudest sound on Earth?

But what about the loudest sound ever heard? On the morning of 27 August 1883, on the Indonesian island of Krakatoa, a volcanic eruption produced what scientists believe to be the loudest sound produced on the surface of the planet, estimated at 310 decibels (dB).

What causes 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.

Are sonic booms illegal?

Currently, U.S. law prohibits flight in excess of Mach 1 over land unless specifically authorized by the FAA for purposes stated in the regulations. The two supersonic rulemaking activities would not rescind the prohibition of flight in excess of Mach 1 over land.

Why don t we have sonic booms anymore?

Why don't we ever hear sonic booms any more? Noise abatement regulations halted supersonic flight (by civil aircraft) over U.S. land. The Concorde could still take off and land here because it broke the sound barrier over the ocean, but it's no longer in service.

Can a sonic boom shake your house?

The aircraft pushes a cone of pressurized air molecules out of the way so quickly that they're spread out into a shock wave. It's rare for sonic booms to break windows or cause serious structural damage to buildings, but it's technically possible if the the sonic boom is powerful enough, according to NASA.

Can a sonic boom hurt?

Sonic booms produced by aircraft flying supersonic at altitudes of less than 100 feet, creating between 20 and 144 pounds overpressure, have been experienced by humans without injury. Damage to eardrums can be expected when overpres- sures reach 720 pounds.

How far can a sonic boom be heard?

The altitude of a supersonic vehicle affects how far sonic booms can travel, based on the width of the “boom carpet.” The width ends up being about one mile for each 1000 feet of attitude. An aircraft flying 50,000 feet would produce a sonic boom cone about 50 miles wide.

Do bullets expire?

Ammunition doesn't “expire” per se, but the gunpowder looses potency over time. The largest risk to shooting old ammunition isn't a failure to fire, it's the risk that you will actually fire the shot and it doesn't have enough momentum to make it out the barrel.

Why is thunder louder at night?

At night, the atmosphere always cools from the ground up. This leaves a warmer layer in the upper atmosphere until the next day's sun heats the ground and then we warm from the ground up. When we have a thunderstorm at night, sound bounces off of that warm layer and has nowhere else to go but down and to our ears.

How hot is lightning?

In fact, lightning can heat the air it passes through to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5 times hotter than the surface of the sun).

Where is thunder loudest?

Our ears perceive thunder based upon the distance from lightning. The sound is loudest closest to the ground. If you are unfortunate enough to be directly under a lightning strike, the thunder has a sharp, cracking sound.