The Sound of Lightning

Abstract

SINCE my letter on the above subject in NATURE of May 23, several other instances have been brought to my notice. Mr. W. H. Dines has heard the sound six times certainly, and probably more; Mr. J. S. Dines has heard it once, as has also my brother, Capt. A. L. Cave, in London, when he was indoors; two other correspondents also write to say that they have heard the sound, one of them three times. But perhaps the most remarkable case is that given in the Marine Observer for July (page 112); Capt. J. Burton Davies of s.s. Hurunui reports that from 10 P.M. on July 30, 1921, to 3.45 A.M. on July 31, when in about lat. 38 N. and long. 71 W., “a terrific electric storm was playing about the ship.... On three occasions the officer of the watch and myself were momentarily completely dazzled by flashes, and it appeared that immediately before the flash we heard a tearing noise as of canvas being ripped violently; in fact, after the first of these flashes I caused the quartermaster to inspect the boat covers on boat deck to see if any were torn. This noise interested me very much”. The fact that the noise was heard before the flash seems to indicate that it may have been caused by a brush discharge. In any event, it proves that the noise must be real, and not an illusion like the rushing noise that some have imagined they have heard when watching a bright meteor, or the rustling sometimes attributed to the aurora.