Mennydörgés

Mennydörgés is the Hungarian word for the sound of thunder, produced during a thunderstorm as a lightning discharge heats the air and creates a rapid shock wave that travels to the observer. The term is used in everyday language, meteorology, and literature to describe the audible component of thunder.

The scientific explanation of mennydörgés is that a lightning bolt rapidly heats the surrounding air to extremely high temperatures, causing it to expand explosively and create a pressure wave. This shock wave propagates through the atmosphere and is heard as thunder. The time delay between seeing a flash and hearing the corresponding thunder depends on distance: sound travels roughly 343 meters per second in dry air at sea level, so a common rule is to count the seconds after the flash and divide by three to estimate the distance in kilometers.

Thunder can vary in character, from a distant, rumbling murmur to a sudden, sharp crack or a rolling peal. Such variations are influenced by storm structure, the path of the lightning, and atmospheric conditions, including wind and temperature gradients.

In culture and language, mennydörgés is often used metaphorically to convey drama, danger, or powerful natural forces. It appears in Hungarian literature and folklore as a symbol of tempestuous energy and the awe inspired by storms. Related terms in Hungarian include villám (lightning) and zivatar (thunderstorm).

See also: Thunder, Thunderstorm, Lightning.