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Lightning: how far away, by the seconds until the thunder

Sound needs about 2.9 seconds for each kilometre; the flash arrives at once. Thunder 20 seconds after the flash means the lightning struck 6.9 km away.

What does this axis measure?
What does this axis measure?
Lightning: how far away, by the seconds until the thunder: 21 points, a line chart.
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Distance to lightning (km)
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Time to thunder (seconds)
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The data: 21 points
Time to thunder (seconds)Distance to lightning (km)
00
10.34
20.69
31.03
41.37
51.72
62.06
72.4
82.75
93.09
103.43
113.78
124.12
134.46
144.81
155.15
165.49
175.83
186.18
196.52
206.86
Source
Computed: speed of sound in air at 20 °C (U.S. Standard Atmosphere 1976, eq. 50); the counting rule is the National Weather Service's
Licence
Public domain (U.S. government work)
Read
2026-09-28
Drawn
21 points as the puzzle showed them · line
  • Ran in puzzle #14 on October 10, 2026. Play it