Lights Out!

   The sky darkens and errie clouds roll by. Suddenly, as quick as the speed of lightning, lightning strikes followed by the crushing sound of thunder. Looks like Zeus is brewing up another stew. At least once in his or her lifetime, a child is scared by lightning. Who could blame them? Similar to fire, a thunder storm is both beautiful and dangerous.
   Next time you're in a thunder storm, keep an eye out for the flash. Then, start counting the seconds. Stop counting when the crash of thunder breaks in. The duration between the lightning strike and the crash of thunder in seconds divided by five will give you the distance in miles in which the lightning struck. For example, if you counted 8 seconds, the distance would be approximately 1.6 miles away. If the light and sound both come at the same time, the storm is right above you, and you should seek safe shelter immediately.
   This method works because light traveles much faster than sound. In fact, light traveles the fastest speed than any other object in the universe. Lightning and thunder come essentially from the same source, so the light will come to your eyes earlier than the sound that hits your ears. Even so, mother nature is unpredictable. Don't believe that your calculation is always certain.

Did you know?

Ball lightning is a type of lightning that ironically forms a ball in the sky. This sphere moves slowly but can annihilate anything in its way until it combusts or burns itself out.