Lightning does not always create thunder?

[l05tfr33k7]

Well pretty self-explanatory. I just red this excerpt:

"Lightning does not always create thunder. In April 1885, five lightning bolts struck the Washington Monument during a thunderstorm, yet no thunder was heard."

Seems very weird...doesn't this refute some scientific 'facts'?

[MrBow]

source? never heard of this.. i always hear thunders when the lightning strikes...

[Blurred]

Source please... But that makes no sense, it has to make thunder?

[Razorhead]

However, the grumbles and growls we hear in thunderstorms actually come from the rapid expansion of the air surrounding the lightning bolt.

http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/thunder.html

[Midori]

don't trust stories that are over 100 years old.

[Pan_Raider(`_´)]

may be static electricity, but the "lightning" is reddish an only happens with a very high staticity

[l05tfr33k7]

don't trust stories that are over 100 years old.

then theres no such thing as stuyding history from other people's accounts.

as for the source its from the library of congress website that razorhead posted.

[Doron]

well, the lighting I shoot from my hands never have thunder with it, cuz that would just ruin a perfectly surprise jolt... it's especially fun when there are a few people holding hands.. then you can shoot one in the middle and the two on the ends get the shock... or you shoot the total left one and the total right one get's it...

[CrimsonNuker]

don't trust stories that are over 100 years old.

I lol'd

[Priam]

well, the lighting I shoot from my hands never have thunder with it, cuz that would just ruin a perfectly surprise jolt... it's especially fun when there are a few people holding hands.. then you can shoot one in the middle and the two on the ends get the shock... or you shoot the total left one and the total right one get's it...

....

ffs.

[DaZzY]

i have never seen lightning without hearing the thunder but then again we only get it like once a year here.

[Doron]

well, the lighting I shoot from my hands never have thunder with it, cuz that would just ruin a perfectly surprise jolt... it's especially fun when there are a few people holding hands.. then you can shoot one in the middle and the two on the ends get the shock... or you shoot the total left one and the total right one get's it...

....

ffs.

dammit.. I still don't know, after all this time, what ffs means....

I fail at life...

[Priam]

It means 'For ****(s) sake'. It's a low sarcastic sort of figure of speech in this case aimed at your totally random and quite weird/stupid comment, in a serious discussion topic.

[Doron]

It means 'For ****(s) sake'. It's a low sarcastic sort of figure of speech in this case aimed at your totally random and quite weird/stupid comment, in a serious discussion topic.

Ooooh....

Well, I was just trying to make ya'll laugh...

[Grandpa]

From the website: Bad Meteorology brought to you by Alistair B. Fraser:

"What is, unfortunately, called heat lightning is just ordinary lightning seen from too far away for its thunder to be heard. Since such observations have often been made with clear skies overhead, and since hot summer evenings particularly favor this type of observation, there has arisen a popular misconception that the presence of diffuse flashes in the apparent absence of the clouds themselves implies that the lightning is somehow occurring in the atmosphere merely as a result of the heat. It isn’t so. The clouds and the ordinary lightning are just a long way away."

We'd need more information about our deceased (I'd presume) observers to know if this applies...

~Grandpa

[[SD]Kratos]

I always thought lightning creates thunder only if they tocuh the ground. (which is not always the case)

[Priam]

Thunder is not created by the actual lightning, it's created by the clashing of some stuff within the clouds, or the clouds itself. Dont remember exactly, they crush over eachother creating the rolling sound.

[SPYCOPPER]

Thunder is not created by the actual lightning, it's created by the clashing of some stuff within the clouds, or the clouds itself. Dont remember exactly, they crush over eachother creating the rolling sound.

yea we know u smart LOL

[rek]

It means 'For ****(s) sake'. It's a low sarcastic sort of figure of speech in this case aimed at your totally random and quite weird/stupid comment, in a serious discussion topic.

Ooooh....

Well, I was just trying to make ya'll laugh...

I did, dont worry.

[Inuyasha584]

i remember driving through the desert, there was lighting but i wasnt sure if i heard thunder, it was a long time ago so maybe there was i just dont remember it

[dom]

I remember faintly learning about it in grade 8 - something about how the sound is created by the air around the lightning bolt nearly instantly vaporizing.

[nohunta]

I always thought lightning creates thunder only if they tocuh the ground. (which is not always the case)

Lets clarify something, Lighting Comes from the ground up. Its goes Up, not down.

[emperor3000]

No "thunder" coming from a lightning can be possible.

Lets take of how we ourselves can hear for instance.

we throw our voices thru the air particles and it vibrates on to other people.

so maybe the lightning is up so high where there is no oxygen.

without oxygen, there can be no sound.


Physics teacher demonstrated a balloon being popped inside a glass dome by the dome being sucked away its air/oxygen particles.

the balloon expanded since the air within its space is decreasing, and then it popped with the overwhelming force.

When it popped there was absolutely no sound of a balloon popping.

[Sharp324]

Heat lightning has no thunder at all, very little oxygen that high up

[Burningwolf]

It means 'For ****(s) sake'. It's a low sarcastic sort of figure of speech in this case aimed at your totally random and quite weird/stupid comment, in a serious discussion topic.

Ooooh....

Well, I was just trying to make ya'll laugh...

ehhh
it made me smile =]

[Schwarzewhatever]

Maybe God is creating an electricity rain out of his pee but sometimes he misses the water in the toilet so you hear.. NOTHING.

Evolution.. pfft bullshit

[[SD]Kratos]

I always thought lightning creates thunder only if they tocuh the ground. (which is not always the case)

Lets clarify something, Lighting Comes from the ground up. Its goes Up, not down.

I just mean IF lightning touch the ground. like it doesnt crete sound if it's within clouds.


But anyways , from wikipedia :

Lightning heats nearby air to about 10,000 °C (18,000 °F) nearly instantly, which is almost twice the temperature of the Sun’s surface. The heating creates a shock wave that is heard as thunder.

[Priam]

Thunder is not created by the actual lightning, it's created by the clashing of some stuff within the clouds, or the clouds itself. Dont remember exactly, they crush over eachother creating the rolling sound.

yea we know u smart LOL

And we know you're a total baboon trolling these forums.

So?

[mike2007]

I always thought lightning creates thunder only if they tocuh the ground. (which is not always the case)

Lets clarify something, Lighting Comes from the ground up. Its goes Up, not down.

I just mean IF lightning touch the ground. like it doesnt crete sound if it's within clouds.


But anyways , from wikipedia :

Lightning heats nearby air to about 10,000 °C (18,000 °F) nearly instantly, which is almost twice the temperature of the Sun’s surface. The heating creates a shock wave that is heard as thunder.

General Rule about wikipedia: Do NOT trust it under any circumstance as any1 can edit it at any time.
and now ill refute its point: if that were true ppl would not b able to survive lightning strikes by the sheer heat they create, they would b simply burned alive. yet we all know ppl CAN survive them; my 5th grade teacher for instance was hit by lightning twice and survived both times.

Thunder is not created by the actual lightning, it's created by the clashing of some stuff within the clouds, or the clouds itself. Dont remember exactly, they crush over eachother creating the rolling sound.

QFT
on a personal theory i believe its actually the same principle as when u rub ur feet (in socks) on carpet u build up static electricity which eventually needs to ground. when u have enough of it it shoots out in the form of lightning to the ground. in the mean time u can hear yourself creating friction with the carpet just as the clowds r creating it by rubbing and bumping against each other. the reason u hear thunder after u see lightning is simply becuase light waves travel faster than sound waves.

[cuchulainn]

I always thought lightning creates thunder only if they tocuh the ground. (which is not always the case)

Lets clarify something, Lighting Comes from the ground up. Its goes Up, not down.

Let me clarify something else. You're not allowed to post in this thread anymore.

Lightning is a result of an imbalance in electric charge building up between clouds and the earth. However, not any charge will do. If any charge could travel between spots as a spark, then capacitors would not work at all. The key is that, at a certain point, air breaks down and ionizes in an electric field. This provides a path for the charge to travel.

Let's pause for a second and go back to basic circuits. What is the component of the circuit called that prevents excess charge from building up? The "ground." All circuits must be grounded or it can cause issues that will damage other parts in your circuit, which is costly when your electronics cost thousands and thousands of dollars. The first thing you learn to ask yourself in a lab which uses lots of electronic equipment is: "Is the ground connected?"

Back to lightning. Nature hates imbalances. This is why water seeks the lowest point it can get to. Electric charge is the same way. Atoms are naturally neutral. Neutral is the lowest point for charge. So, the imbalance builds up and up until the air breaks down and ionizes, creating a path for the charge to travel. Where does the charge go? Does charge from the ground move up to neutralize the charge in the clouds? No. Where did the charge come from in the first place? The ground!!!! Water evaporated, then began to condensate into clouds and finally it rains! Basic 3rd grade science class with the water cycle. Now, the charge is going to do the same thing. It will go back to the ground. Guess how the electrical circuit element gots it's name?