Acoustic energy250 million J
357 septillionCovalent bonds
50 millionSlamming doors
About 250 million joules; incredibly loud
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
A Clap of Thunder
Nature's way of applauding its own lightning show/Events & Phenomena
Thunder is the shockwave produced when lightning superheats the air to about 30,000 K (five times the surface temperature of the Sun), causing it to expand faster than the speed of sound. A single clap of thunder releases roughly 250 million joules of acoustic energy and lasts about 0.2 seconds for the initial crack, followed by rumbling that can last 15-20 seconds as sound echoes off terrain. The sound travels at 343 m/s, which is why you can estimate lightning distance by counting seconds between flash and boom.
Measurements
Initial crack duration2 tenths s
200 millionCPU clock cycles
15.9 billionthsSemesters
The sharp crack lasts about 0.2 seconds
Speed of sound343 m/s
1.72Tsunami waves
214 billionContinental drifts
22.9Galloping horses
About 1,235 km/h in air at sea level
Lightning channel temperature30,000 K
97Penguin egg pouches
88.2Laptop surfaces
34.4Campfires
Five times hotter than the Sun's surface
Shockwave overpressure500,000 Pa
2.4 hundredthsScuba tanks
7.1 tenthsRoad bike pressures
About 5 atm near the strike; enough to shatter windows
Audible range25,000 m
83,333Bread loaves
100,000Wrench lengths
5 trillioniPhone transistors
Thunder can be heard up to 25 km away