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.

Sound waves can be described by the wavelength and frequency of the waves. Sound travels more quickly through solids than through liquids and gases because the molecules of a solid are closer together and, therefore, can transmit the vibrations (energy) faster.

Speed of Mechanical Waves — Recognizing that mechanical waves generally travel the fastest in solids, then liquids, then gases.

solids

P-waves travel 60% faster than S-waves on average because the interior of the Earth does not react the same way to both of them. P-waves are compression waves that apply a force in the direction of propagation. The energy is thus less easily transmitted through the medium, and S-waves are slower.

P waves

1720 feet

9,600 miles per hour

Surface waves

shear wave

Rayleigh waves

In a P wave, the rock particles are alternately squished together and pulled apart (called compressions and dilatations), so P waves are also called compressional waves. These waves can travel through solids, liquids, and gases. P waves can travel through the liquid outer core.

S-waves cannot travel through liquids. When they reach the surface they cause horizontal shaking. Liquids don’t have any shear strength and so a shear wave cannot propagate through a liquid.

noun Geology. an earthquake wave that travels around the earth’s surface and is usually the third conspicuous wave to reach a seismograph.

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 travel at speeds between 1 and 14 km per second, while S waves travel significantly slower, between 1 and 8 km per second. The S waves are the second wave to reach a seismic station measuring a disturbance. The difference in arrival times helps geologists determine the location of the earthquake.

What’s the difference between a perm and a body wave? A perm gives you permanently curly hair, and depending on the rods you and your stylist decide to use, will depend on the size of the curl in your hair. A body wave is a perm, but it results in more wavy, naturally curly looking hair.

There are three basic types of seismic waves – P-waves, S-waves and surface waves. P-waves and S-waves are sometimes collectively called body waves.

P- and S- waves are called “body waves” because they can travel through the interior of a body such as the Earth’s inner layers, from the focus of an earthquake to distant points on the surface. The next to arrive is the S wave which causes particles to oscillate.

The velocities of body waves in the Earth range from 1.5 to > 13 km s− 1. Since waves that penetrate the deep interior of the Earth are commonly observed at frequencies at least up to 2 Hz, structures having spatial scales as small as 1 km can be potentially imaged from a densely sampled wave field.

Rayleigh wave is a secondary wave characterized by low frequency and strong energy, propagating mainly along the interface of medium and rapid attenuation of energy with increase in interface distance. The same as reflected wave and refracted wave, Rayleigh wave also contain subsurface geological information.

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.

Rayleigh waves travel along the free surface of an elastic solid such as the Earth. Their motion is a combination of longitudinal compression and dilation that results in an elliptical motion…

The second type of body wave is the S wave or secondary wave, which is the second wave you feel in an earthquake. An S wave is slower than a P wave and can only move through solid rock, not through any liquid medium.

S Wave—secondary body waves that oscillate the ground perpendicular to the direction of wave travel. They travel about 1.7 times slower than P waves. Because liquids will not sustain shear stresses, S waves will not travel through liquids like water, molten rock, or the Earth’s outer core.

S-waves cannot travel through liquids or gases. Because the earth’s mantle becomes more rigid as its depth below the asthenosphere increases, S-waves travel faster as they go deeper in the mantle….S-Waves.

mantle

P waves travel through rock the same way that sound waves do through air. That is, they move as pressure waves. When a pressure wave passes a certain point, the material it is passing through moves forward, then back, along the same path that the wave is traveling. P waves can travel through solids, liquids and gases.

Figure 19.2a: P-waves generally bend outward as they travel through the mantle due to the increased density of mantle rocks with depth. When P-waves strike the outer core, however, they bend downward when traveling through the outer core and bend again when they leave. The bending of seismic waves is called refraction.