The delay occurs because light travels much faster than sound. The flash of light from lightning reaches the observer’s eyes almost instantaneously, while the sound takes longer to travel through the atmosphere, resulting in a noticeable delay between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder.
Why is there a delay between seeing a flash of light and hearing the sound of thunder during a thunderstorm?
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The delay between seeing a flash of light and hearing thunder is due to the difference in the speed of light and sound. Light travels nearly instantaneously at 300,000 km/s, while sound travels much slower at about 343 m/s in air, causing the delay.