• Question: why is light faster that sound

    Asked by anon-186304 to Verity, Raquel, Danny, Catherine on 11 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Danny Ward

      Danny Ward answered on 11 Nov 2018:

      The speed of sound in air is 340 meters per second. The speed of light in air is about 300 million meters per second. This is why during thunderstorms you will see a flash of lightening, then hear the thunder much later as its so much slower ⛈️
      .
      The reason for this massive difference in speed is due to the physics. Light travels as a transverse wave and can move without being in a medium like air or water. Sound on the other hand is a longitudinal wave and must travel through a medium like air or water (this is why there is no sound in space, its a vacuum so has no medium). This means sound is impacted heavily by the environment it has to travel through. Light is a fundamental particle while sound is a pressure wave – this ultimately leads to very different speeds ☄️

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