Knowra Thunder Thunder Thunder is the sound produced when lightning rapidly heats and expands nearby air. Its sharp crack or rolling rumble depends on the lightning channel’s shape, distance, and surrounding atmosphere.
Lightning : A sudden electrical discharge in the atmosphere, often between clouds or between a cloud and the ground. Its intense heating of air initiates thunder.
Sound : A mechanical disturbance that propagates through a medium and can be perceived by hearing. Thunder is a natural sound generated by a sudden atmospheric event.
Intra-cloud lightning : A lightning discharge that occurs within a cloud or between parts of the same cloud. Its extended, often obscured channel can produce broad, rolling thunder.
Sonic boom : A loud pressure wave produced when an object travels through air faster than sound. Both can sound like explosive reports, but thunder comes from lightning-heated air, not supersonic motion.
Shock wave : A traveling disturbance in a medium that produces an abrupt change in pressure, temperature, or density. Lightning’s rapid expansion launches pressure disturbances that develop into thunder.
Atmospheric pressure : The force per unit area exerted by the weight and motion of gases in an atmosphere. Thunder is a traveling variation in air pressure.
Cloud-to-ground lightning : A lightning discharge that connects a cloud with the ground. Its channel can produce a sharp nearby crack followed by a longer rumble.
Explosive sound : A sound generated by a rapid release of energy that creates a pressure disturbance. Thunder can resemble an explosion, but its source is an extended lightning channel.
Acoustic wave : A mechanical pressure disturbance that travels through a material medium such as air, water, or a solid. Thunder reaches the ear as sound waves traveling through air.
Sound propagation : The transmission of sound through a medium, shaped by the medium’s properties and surrounding conditions. It determines how thunder changes as it travels from lightning to a listener.
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