Question

A thunderstorm! You see a flash of lightning across the sky. Five seconds later, your hear the thunder. If lightning and thunder come from the same source, then why don't they occur at the same time?
They do! The time difference is due to the way sound waves and light waves travel. Light travels extremely fast through the air, 300,000,000 m/s. Sound travels much slower, 343 m/s through air. Therefore we can see light in an instant, but it takes a while to hear thunder. The speed of light waves and sound waves depends on the medium through which they travel. Take a look at the data in the image above.

How do the speeds of sound and light waves compare?

Answer 1

Light travels extremely fast through the air, 300,000,000 m/s. Sound travels much slower, 343 m/s through air. Therefore we can see light in an instant, but it takes a while to hear thunder.

Explanation:

When you compare the numbers (speed of light vs speed of sound) you understand that light is 10^6 faster in speed that sound. When lightning occurs at a greater distance from the observer, this difference in speeds in more perceptible because the two different waves would have to travel greater distances to the observer and the relative differences in speed become increased.

Remember however, that sound travels in a medium while light waves do not require a medium because they are electromagnetic waves. In a vacuum, therefore, you would observe the lightning but never the sound.

Learn More:

For more on light and sound waves check out;

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