Which one of the following phenomena verifies the fact that light travels much faster than sound?

The phenomenon of a thunderstorm verifies that light travels significantly faster than sound. During a lightning strike, the rapid heating of air causes it to expand explosively, creating the sound of thunder [3]. Although both the flash of light and the sound of thunder are generated simultaneously at the same source, an observer sees the lightning flash almost instantly because the speed of light is approximately 300,000 km/s. In contrast, sound travels at a much slower speed of about 340 m/s in air, resulting in a noticeable time lag before the thunder is heard [2]. Other options like the twinkling of stars and mirages are caused by atmospheric refraction [4], while the lighting of a matchstick involves chemical ignition and local light emission, neither of which demonstrate the relative speed difference between light and sound waves over distance.

Sources

1. [1] Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 8: Natural Hazards and Disaster Management > Tunderstorms and Hails in India > p. 52
2. [3] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 25: Thunderstorm > 25.4. Lightning And Thunder > p. 349
3. [2] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 4: Climate of India > Lightning and Thunder > p. 29
4. [4] Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 10: The Human Eye and the Colourful World > Twinkling of stars > p. 168