Thunder

For the rock band, see Thunder (band).
For the 1987 album by Andy Taylor, see Thunder (album).

Thunder is the sound of the shockwave caused when lightning instantly heats the air around it to up to 30 000 °C (54 000 °F). That super-heated air expands rapidly, then contracts as it cools. The rapid expansion/contraction generates sound waves, making the sound that is called "thunder."

Since sound and light travel at different speeds through the atmosphere, one can time the interval between them to roughly estimate how far away the bolt of lightning is. The speed of sound in air is approximately 340 m/s (761 mph), while the speed of light is so fast that the lightning is seen only a few microseconds after the event, so the lightning is approximately one kilometer distant for every 3 second interval (one mile for every 5 seconds).

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Etymology

The d in thunder is epenthetic, and is also found in Modern Dutch donder, from earlier d-less Old English þunor, Middle Dutch donre, together with Old Norse þorr, Old Frisian þuner, Old High German donar descended from Proto-Germanic *þunraz, built on a PIE stem *(s)tene- also found in Sanskrit tana-itnu- "thundering", Latin tonare "to thunder" (see also tornado).

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List of thunder gods

Polytheistic peoples in areas with much thunder, or areas where thunder precedes drought-breaking rain, may postulate a thunder god.

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Ancient Near East

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Eurasian

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East Asia

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Americas

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Africa

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South Pacific

See also: Category:Thunder gods

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See also

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External links