I was looking at lightning, and started to wonder if the speed of the thunder slowed down as it lost energy traveling far distances. I know the amplitude of sound decreases, perceived as volume. Im not certain, however, how to actually calculate the distance of a lightning strike based off of of the interval of time between observing the flash and hearing the thunder. Would this time be linear ( is the speed of sound constant?), or is it non-linear (Speed of sound loses velocity over time?)
If I were to determine this by comparing two audio recordings of the same lightning strikes' thunder, and seeing if the further one was lower in frequency, would that accurately indicate a deceleration of the sound?