⚡ Heat Lightning Lab: Why a Distant Storm Flashes in Silence (Horizon Curvature and Thunder Shadow Zone)

A thunderstorm 100 km away flashes over the sea but you hear nothing: the curved Earth hides its base while the anvil top stays visible for 400 km, and sound rays bend upward into a shadow zone. Move the storm, change cloud height, eye height and temperature profile; the checks compare exact horizon geometry and traced sound rays with closed forms.