why does thunder sound long and with a long rumble when the lightning is far away and why is it a short hard bang if it is really close?

Question

Is it because some soundwaves travel slower than others?

In: Physics

Answer 1

Echoes. A sound that intense is going to produce an intense echo, even if the surface it’s reflecting off absorbs a fair bit of the sound. The further away from the source, the more time there is for the reflected waves to reverb around off of other surfaces and to separate. Thus, long rumble vs short blast.