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What are body waves?
What are the two types of body waves?
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What is the difference between body and surface waves?
Body waves are of two types: Primary waves (also called P-waves, or pressure waves) and Secondary waves (S-waves, or shear waves). P-waves are compression waves. They can propagate in solid or liquid material. S-waves are shear waves. They only propagate in solid material.
The first kind of body wave is the P wave or primary wave. It’s the fastest kind of seismic wave, and the first to arrive at a seismic station. P waves can move through solid rock and fluids, like water or the liquid layers of the Earth.
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P-waves, also known as primary waves or pressure waves, travel at the greatest velocity through the Earth. When they travel through air, they take the form of sound waves – they travel at the speed of sound (330 ms-1) through air but may travel at 5000 ms-1 in granite. Because of their speed, they are the first waves to be recorded by a seismograph...
S-waves, also known as secondary waves, shear waves or shaking waves, are transverse waves that travel slower than P-waves. In this case, particle motion is perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. Again, imagine a slinky partially stretched, except this time, lift a section and then release it, a transverse wavewill travel along the len...
Surface waves are similar in nature to water waves and travel just under the Earth’s surface. They are typically generated when the source of the earthquake is close to the Earth’s surface. Although surface waves travel more slowly than S-waves, they can be much larger in amplitudeand can be the most destructive type of seismic wave. There are two ...
Apr 11, 2020 · Body Waves. As the name suggests, body waves travel through the interior of the Earth and have a frequency higher than the surface wave. Body waves are divided into P or primary and S or secondary waves. P-waves: Also called pressure waves, they can propagate in solid and liquid materials.
Jan 1, 2016 · Body waves are defined as waves that travel through the body of a medium, as opposed to surface waves that travel near the surface of the medium. They follow ray paths bent by the varying density and modulus (stiffness) of the medium.
Jan 1, 2014 · There are two main kinds of body waves: P-waves and S-waves, so-named because they are the primary and secondary waves detected by a seismograph (Figure 1). The P-wave is always the first wave to arrive at a seismometer, closely followed by its reflection from the surface and S-waves arrive next.
Jun 4, 2024 · Seismic wave, vibration generated by an earthquake, explosion, or similar energetic source and propagated within the Earth or along its surface. Earthquakes generate four principal types of elastic waves; two, known as body waves, travel within the Earth, whereas the other two, called surface.
