What happens when lightning flashes and thunder booms? Why do we see something before we hear it — even though both come from the same event? In this video we explain, with clear demos and simple math, the huge difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound, how to estimate distance from thunder, and some surprising real-world effects (sonic booms, lightning and lag, perception limits).|
Quick facts:
Speed of light in vacuum ≈ 299,792,458 m/s.
Speed of sound in air at 20°C ≈ 343 m/s (≈ 0.343 km/s).
Light is about 900,000 times faster than sound in air.