Why do massive explosions have a delayed sonic effect depending on how far away you are from it?
In: Physics
Because light travels faster than sound. Sound travels at about 343 m/s, so if for example you are standing 1km away from the explosion, it takes the sound from the explosion about 3 seconds to reach you. Meanwhile, the light from the explosion reaches you nearly instantly.
The sound of the explosion travels at the speed of sound – 343 metres per second.
The light from the explosion (I.e. what you see) travels at the speed of light – 299792458 metres per second.
The light gets to you way quicker than the sound of the explosion, which is especially noticeable at longer distances.
Light (you seeing the explosion) travels significantly faster than sound (you hearing the explosion). Same reason why you can see lightning at a distance, and then hear the thunder a bit later.
Sound travels much slower than light (which is what enables you to see..), take a lightning bolt for example, you always see a flash in the window and only after 2-3 seconds you hear a massive thump that scares the living shit out of you and your teddy bear.
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