What sound does thunder make in words?

Senior Member. One common word for the sound is a thunderclap.

How do you spell the sound of thunder?

thunder Add to list Share. Thunder is the loud noise that comes right after lightning. It also can refer to a loud, booming sound, or mean to move heavily but quickly. Thunder is made up of the rumbles and cracks accompanying lightning during a thunderstorm.

What sound does a thunder make?

With nearby lightning strikes the thunder will sound like a loud bang, crack or snap and its duration will be very short. As the shock wave propagates away from the strike center, it stretches, diminishes, and becomes elongated. Then other shock waves from more distance locations arrive at the listener.

How would you describe the sound of thunder in writing?

You can bring these sound effects to your descriptions by using onomatopoeia, a device where words mimic the sounds of their meaning. For example, if a thunderstorm figures prominently in your story, the thunder could "rumble" or "boom," rain could "patter" against the windows" and wind could "rush" across a field.

Is the word thunder onomatopoeia?

With onomatopoeia, a gun doesn't just go off, it goes “bang!” Thunder doesn't just make a sound, it makes a “clap,” “crack,” or a “boom.” Birds don't just sing, they “tweet” and “chirp.” Onomatopoeic words like these help bring written language to life.

Why Doesn't All Thunder Sound The Same?

How does thunder rumble?

However, the grumbles and growls we hear in thunderstorms actually come from the rapid expansion of the air surrounding the lightning bolt. As lightning connects to the ground from the clouds, a second stroke of lightning will return from the ground to the clouds, following the same channel as the first strike.

What does thunder sound like up close?

The air around the lightning bolt expands faster than the speed of sound, which creates a shock wave of thunder. When you're this close to the bolt, though, it sounds more like a bullet from a gun.

Is thunder the sound of lightning?

Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning produces rapid expansion of the air in the path of a lightning bolt.

What is this word thunder?

Definition of thunder

(Entry 1 of 2) 1 : the sound that follows a flash of lightning and is caused by sudden expansion of the air in the path of the electrical discharge. 2 : bang, rumble the thunder of big guns. 3 : a loud utterance or threat.

What is the sentence of thunder?

Thunder sentence example. Lightning flashed around them and thunder rumbled. Thunder clapped and echoed through the hills. The room lit up with a bright flash of lightening, and thunder rattled the windowpane.

How do you explain thunder to a child?

Because thunder is a sound, and sound is a slow poke. Lightning is so bright that you can see it for miles and miles, but thunder can't always go that far. So, sometimes you see lightning and don't even hear it, which means it's pretty far away.

How loud is a thunder?

The loudness of thunder can be expressed in decibels (dB). A clap of thunder typically registers at about 120 dB in close proximity to the ground stroke. This is 10 times louder than a garbage truck or pneumatic jackhammer drill.

Why does thunder sound like a bomb?

The sudden heating causes the surrounding air to expand violently and creates big sound waves, like what happens in a bomb explosion, along the entire length of the lightning bolt.

Is thunder the loudest sound?

The Krakatoa volcanic eruption: Not only did it cause serious damage to the island, the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 created the loudest sound ever reported at 180 dB.

Why does thunder crack so loud?

This is why we hear the loud crack of thunder after a flash of lightning—a small shockwave forms from the air expanding so rapidly in that split second the lightning existed. The closer you are to the bolt, the louder the thunder will be, and bigger shockwaves can rattle both you and your house, just like an explosion.

Why does thunder shake?

Why does the house shake when there is a thunder storm? Your house will shake depending the closeness of the lightning. Thunder is a sonic boom that comes from the rapid heating of the air around a lightning strike. Sonic booms cause massive shaking to nearby objects (your house).

Is thunder a sonic boom?

Keep in mind these shock waves are produced when the intense heat of lightning superheats air, causing it to expand faster than the speed of sound. Thunder is essentially a sonic 'boom'.

What makes the sound of lightning?

The temperature of the air in the lightning channel may reach as high as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun. Immediately after the flash, the air cools and contracts quickly. This rapid expansion and contraction creates the sound wave that we hear as thunder.

How do you write sounds in words?

In general, sounds in fiction are formatted using italics. If the context requires the sound to stand alone for emphasis, it is usually recommended the author use the sound on its own line. If someone is describing sound in first person narrative, there are instances where italics might include dashes.

What are words that describe sounds?

Onomatopoeia is a type of sensory language in which the descriptive word sounds like what it describes—words like “drip,” “bang,” or “plink.” If you want to achieve an especially sound-driven description, consider using existing onomatopoeic words or craft your own.

Are onomatopoeias words?

An onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like the noise it describes. The spelling and pronunciation of that word is directly influenced by the sound it defines in real life. All onomatopoeia words describe specific sounds. Onomatopoeia definition: a word that sounds like the noise it describes.

What does 50db sound like?

How Loud Is 50 Decibels? 50 dB is as loud as a quiet conversation, a quiet suburb, a quiet office, or a quiet refrigerator. Notice the use of the word 'quiet' when describing this noise level? That's because all sounds between 31-60 decibels are considered quiet.

Can lightning make you blind?

In ophthalmology, injuries due to lightning strikes have been documented as various entities – ranging from keratitis, cataracts, uveitis in the anterior segments to retinal detachments, papillitis, and macular hole formation in the posterior segment.