It was a rainy afternoon. Lightning strikes and was accompanied by thunder and so my kids got scared..They ask me where does lightning came from and to my surprise, I too did not know the answer..funny indeed! and so I was task to search what are the facts about it..
Lightning causes thunder because a strike of lightning is incredibly hot. A typical bolt of lightning can immediately heat the air to between 15,000 to 60,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That's hotter than the surface of the sun! It travels faster than the speed of sound that is why each time lightning strikes thunder follows- a few seconds later.
Lightning always produces thunder. When you see lightning but don't hear any thunder, the lightning is too far away from you for the sound waves to reach you.
Light and sound will always move at different speeds. And lightning will always produce thunder because of a strike's high temperature. So no matter what, you will always see a flash of lightning before you hear thunder.
sources:
http://weathereye.kgan.com/cadet/lightning/thunder.html
