Thursday, March 3, 2011

Seismic Waves

Diagram showing spring stretched out horizontally, with compression and dilation occurring along the length of the spring
Diagram showing spring stretched out horizontally and being shaken up and down at one end, forming an s-like shape.

A seismic wave is an elastic wave generated by an impulse such as an earthquake or an explosion.

Seismic waves are wavesof energy that travel through the earth, for example as a result of an earthquake explosion, or some other process that imparts low-frequency acoustic energy.

The P waves move in a compressional motion similar to the motion of a slinky, while the S waves move in a shear motion perpendicular to the direction the wave is travelling.

No comments:

Post a Comment