LIGHTNING IN AUSTRALIA When a lightning bolt flashes through the sky we see it instantly. The sound of the lightning, thunder, takes a few seconds, as light travels much faster than sound. Lightning heats air much hotter than the surface of the sun, the temperature gets to be about 36,032 degrees Fahrenheit. Quick expansion and contraction of air around lightning makes the air molecules move back and forth, creating sound waves. This creates the sound that we know as thunder. There are different parts of thunder. First you hear a loud "clap" which is followed by several seconds of rumbling.
LIGHTNING STRIKING A FIELD
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