Lightning & Thunder Distance Calculator

This page provides insight into determining the distance of lightning and thunder and provides a function to help you calculate it using velocity and time.
CalculationInputs﻿﻿t
:5s​
﻿
﻿﻿v
:343.00m / s​
﻿
Here are the variables for the equation
D = distance to lightning flash
t = time to hear thunder
v = speed. i.e. v (sound) is the speed of sound.
Output﻿﻿D
:1715m​
﻿
﻿
DLightning=t ⋅vsoundD_{Lightning} = t \: \cdot v_{sound} DLightning​=t⋅vsound​
ExplanationDue to the difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound, you will always see a lightning flash before you hear thunder. The following equation describes how far away the lightning flash occurred using the speed of sound as velocity. 
﻿
DLightning=t ⋅vsoundD_{Lightning} = t \: \cdot v_{sound} DLightning​=t⋅vsound​
Additional information How is lightning formed?
Due to the presence of warm air and cold air in thunderstorm clouds, the droplets and crystals in the air rub together to cause positive electrical charges. With negative charges in the cloud, the cloud acts as an insulator between these two charges. However, when the insulating capacity of the cloud is exceeded, a massive discharge occurs between either: the charges in the cloud (inter-cloud lightning) or the charges in the cloud and the ground. 
The results of this discharge cause the air to heat to extremely high temperatures (~6000 Celcius) and thus explode and expand outwards, causing a massive shock wave to produce the sound we perceive as thunder. 
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