Is a primary wave transverse?
When seismic waves are first created, they travel outwards in all direction from their source. Body waves travel through the interior of the earth, and have two main types: P-Waves (Primary waves) are Longitudinal Waves. S-Waves (Secondary waves) are Transverse Waves.
Do P or S waves cause more damage?
S waves are more dangerous than P waves because they have greater amplitude and produce vertical and horizontal motion of the ground surface. The slowest waves, surface waves, arrive last. They travel only along the surface of the Earth. There are two types of surface waves: Love and Rayleigh waves.
What is the slowest surface wave how destructive is it?
Body waves travel through the body of a planet. Surface waves travel along the surface. There are two types of body waves: P-waves travel fastest and through solids, liquids, and gases; S-waves only travel through solids. Surface waves are the slowest, but they do the most damage in an earthquake.
What is Rayleigh wave speed?
Rayleigh waves emanating outward from the epicenter of an earthquake travel along the surface of the earth at about 10 times the speed of sound in air (0.340 km/s), that is ~3 km/s. Due to their higher speed, the P- and S-waves generated by an earthquake arrive before the surface waves.
Are Love waves transverse or longitudinal?
Description. The particle motion of a Love wave forms a horizontal line perpendicular to the direction of propagation (i.e. are transverse waves). Moving deeper into the material, motion can decrease to a “node” and then alternately increase and decrease as one examines deeper layers of particles.
What type of waves are P waves?
A P wave (primary wave or pressure wave) is one of the two main types of elastic body waves, called seismic waves in seismology. P waves travel faster than other seismic waves and hence are the first signal from an earthquake to arrive at any affected location or at a seismograph.
What are the similarities of body waves and surface waves?
The two main types of waves are body waves and surface waves. Body waves can travel through the earth’s inner layers, but surface waves can only move along the surface of the planet like ripples on water. Earthquakes radiate seismic energy as both body and surface waves.
Why do P waves slow down in a liquid?
When an earthquake occurs the seismic waves (P and S waves) spread out in all directions through the Earth’s interior. Molten areas within the Earth slow down P waves and stop S waves because their shearing motion cannot be transmitted through a liquid.
Which geological setting is likely to experience the least amount of seismic activity?
convergent-plate boundaries