The flash of lightning is seen before the thunderstorm is heard. It ve

The flash of lightning is seen before the thunderstorm is heard. It verifies that

sound travels much faster than light
light travels much faster than sound
light and sound both travel with same speed
intensity of flash of lightning is very high during thunderstorm
This question was previously asked in
UPSC NDA-2 – 2023
The fact that the flash of lightning is seen before the thunderstorm is heard verifies that light travels much faster than sound.
– Lightning and thunder occur simultaneously as a result of an electrical discharge in the atmosphere.
– Light (the flash) and sound (the thunder) are both produced by the same event.
– We see the light almost instantly because the speed of light in air is extremely high (approximately 3 x 10^8 m/s).
– We hear the thunder later because the speed of sound in air is much lower (approximately 343 m/s at 20°C).
– The time delay between seeing the flash and hearing the thunder is directly proportional to the distance of the thunderstorm.
For every 3 seconds delay between the flash and the thunder, the thunderstorm is approximately 1 kilometer (or 5 seconds per mile) away. This difference in speeds makes it possible to estimate the distance to a thunderstorm.
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