Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending on the distance and nature of the lightning, thunder can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble (brontide). The sudden increase in pressure and temperature from lightning produces rapid expansion of the air surrounding and within a bolt of lightning. In turn, this expansion of air creates a sonic shock wave, similar to a sonic boom, which produces the sound of thunder, often referred to as a clap, crack, or peal of thunder.
The cause of thunder has been the subject of centuries of speculation and scientific inquiry. The first recorded theory is attributed to the Greek philosopher Aristotle in the fourth century BC, and an early speculation was that it was caused by the collision of clouds. Subsequently, numerous other theories were proposed. By the mid-19th century, the accepted theory was that lightning produced a vacuum.
In the 20th century a consensus evolved that thunder must begin with a shock wave in the air due to the sudden thermal expansion of the plasma in the lightning channel. The temperature inside the lightning channel, measured by spectral analysis, varies during its 50 μs existence, rising sharply from an initial temperature of about 20,000 K to about 30,000 K, then dropping away gradually to about 10,000 K. The average is about 20,400 K (20,100 °C; 36,300 °F). This heating causes a rapid outward expansion, impacting the surrounding cooler air at a speed faster than sound would otherwise travel. The resultant outward-moving pulse is a shock wave, similar in principle to the shock wave formed by an explosion, or at the front of a supersonic aircraft.
Thunder is the first solo album by British guitarist Andy Taylor, released in 1987. It features former Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones on guitar. Jones also co-wrote most of the songs on the album.
The album went out of print in 1990, but would reemerge in a newly expanded version on online music services like iTunes when Taylor made his entire catalog available in 2010. In addition to the original version of Thunder, Taylor's previous solo singles such as "Take It Easy" were included as well.
FV Thunder was an outlaw fishing vessel sunk in 2015. The ship was built in 1969 in Norway and has gone by many names, including: Vesturvón, Arctic Ranger, Rubin, Typhoon I, Kuko, and Wuhan N4. The ship was last registered in Lagos, Nigeria; however, the ship was officially de-listed by Nigeria a week before it sank.
At the time of its sinking, the crew consisted of 30 Indonesians and 10 officers from Spain, Chile, and Portugal, who were turned over to the authorities in São Tomé and Príncipe. The officers of the crew were later tried and convicted of several illegal fishing offences. The captain, Luis Alfonso Rubio Cataldo of Chile, was given a three year sentence. The ship's chief engineer, Agustín Dosil Rey of Spain, was given a two year and nine month sentence. The ship's second mechanic, Luis Miguel Pérez Fernández of Spain, was given a two year and eight month sentence. Together, they were fined a total of over $17 million.Interpol believes that the vessel was part of a fleet of six operating through shell corporations under Vidal Armadores, a company based in Spain.