– Why do we continue to hear thunder after the initial boom?

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Why do we hear thunder rumble for quite a while after the initial boom or crack. When you hear sounds from other loud things like fire works, gun shots, car crash, something heavy falling, etc.. the sound hits you and is then gone almost instantly, why does thunder continue to rumble for so long?

In: Physics

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Light travels faster than sound, you see it a couple of miles away, so the light gets to you before the sound does and it bounces around on it’s way to you

Same reason why large explosions from a big distance are seen before they are heard and rumble, huge volcanos which have gone off have recorded the soundwave going all the way round the planet and reaching back up at the start

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