Thunder
Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending on the nature of the lightning and distance of the listener, thunder can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble (brontide). The sudden increase in pressure and temperature from lightning produces rapid expansion of the air surrounding and within a bolt of lightning. In turn, this expansion of air creates a sonic shock wave, similar to a sonic boom, which produces the sound of thunder, often referred to as a clap, crack, or peal of thunder. The distance of the lightning can be calculated by the listener based on the time interval from when the lightning is seen to when the sound is heard.
Read more about Thunder.
Famous quotes containing the word thunder:
“Here falling houses thunder on your head,
And here a female atheist talks you dead.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“It is the mind that is woven, the mind that was jerked
And tufted in straggling thunder and shattered sun.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“After night’s thunder far away had rolled
The fiery day had a kernel sweet of cold”
—Edward Thomas (1878–1917)