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The sound followed the flash? How much of a gap was there between them? I would have thought they'd be basically simultaneous if you're inside the lightning b
by mkl 7y ago
The sound followed the flash? How much of a gap was there between them? I would have thought they'd be basically simultaneous if you're inside the lightning bolt.
- kortilla 7y agoRemember, the sound isn’t really coming from the tip of the bolt. The majority of it is coming from the super-heated air around the bolt along the whole path.
- mkl 7y agoYes, so the sound should last a while as bits of it from far up the bolt reach you, but I don't understand why the start of the sound would be delayed.
- SmellyGeekBoy 7y agoHuman memory isn't perfect, to be fair.
- kortilla 7y agoThe start was likely quiet enough to not be audible through the airplane walls.
- taneq 7y agoThe start of the sound is basically instantaneous. Source: Have been quite close (tens of meters) to a lightning strike and there was no perceptible lag between lightning and thunder. We were close enough that handheld electronics glitched when it happened.