What are seismic waves?

1 Answer
Suryin =)
Nov 23, 2015

Earthquake waves

Explanation:

There are three main types of seismic waves according to its characteristic speed and manner of travel:

Primary waves or P waves rarr travel the fastest rarr travel through solids, liquids, and gases rarr push-pull waves rarr causes rock to move back and forth.

Secondary waves or S wavesrarrtravel slower than p waves rarr travel only through solidsrarr causes rock to move side to side.

Surface waves or L wavesrarr slowest seismic waves rarr travel from the focus directly upward to the epicenterrarr move along the earth's surface up and down rarr cause the most of the damage during earthquake because they bend and twist the earth's surface.

Related questions
See all questions in The Planets
Impact of this question
2644 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License