Why is there thunder?
Ooh, lightning is a giant spark, hotter than the outside of the sun!
Pip’s answer
- Ooh, lightning is a giant spark, hotter than the outside of the sun!
- It heats the air so fast that the air goes BOOM!
- That boom is thunder! Light is faster than sound, so you see the flash first, buddy.
For grown-ups
Lightning heats the air around it to roughly 30,000 °C in a split second. The air expands explosively and creates a shock wave we hear as thunder. Light travels almost instantly, but sound takes about three seconds to travel a kilometer, which is why you see the flash before you hear the boom.
Ask your child: Next storm, shall we count the seconds between the flash and the boom?
More questions kids ask
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- 🌅Why are sunsets orange?
- 🌈Why are there rainbows?
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