p waves are normally faster than s waves s waves have trouble sometimes going through solid rock while p waves travel straight through rock.
The more energy, the more damage it can cause.
Seismologist use a seismometer or seismograph to record the P and S-wave arrival times.Please see the related question for detail on how this is used to locate an earthquake epicenter.Geologists use seismic waves to locate an earthquake's epicenter.
By there differences
No. One seismograph station will only allow you to calculate the distance to the earthquake's focus. (The epicentre is on the surface above.) To find its exact location you need the recordings from at least 3 seismograph stations.For more information on the SP time method, please see the related question.
Measurements from at least three different seismometer stations are required to locate an earthquakes epicentre. For more information see the related question.
The more energy, the more damage it can cause.
This value is related to the distance of the seismometer station from the earthquake's epicentre. The larger the difference in arrival times, the greater the distance.
Using the difference in their arrival times and an estimate of their velocity of propagation you can calculate the distance of the earthquake epicentre from the seismometer recording station. If you do this from three or more different seismometer stations you can triangulate it's position. For more information please see the related question.
earthquake
The focus and epicenter are both "earthquake points". The focus is the point of origin of an earthquake or underground nuclear explosion while the epicenter the very center or focal point.
It starts from the center, I'm pretty sure, and then moves out from there. BORDERLANDS 2 ALL THE WAY!
These are all related to the science of Earthquakes.
To find the distance to an earthquakes epicentre, you need the data from a seismometer.The seismometer records the P and S-wave arrival times. P-waves travel faster through the Earth than S-waves and so they arrive at the seismometer station before the S-waves and are recorded by the seismometer on the seismogram first.The difference in arrival time between the two types of seismic wave can be used to calculate the distance of the earthquakes epicentre from the seismometer.DE = DeltaT x (VP - VS) / (VS x VP)Where:DE = Distance to epicentre (km)DeltaT = Difference between P and S-wave arrival time (s)VP = P-wave velocity (km/s)VS = S-wave velocity (km/s)Please see the related question for further information.
They measure the difference in arrival times of P and S seismic waves as measured on a seismograph. From this (based on an estimate of their relative velocities) they can calculate the distance of the seismometer from the earthquakes epicentre using the following equation:Distance to epicentre (km) = Time Difference (s) x (VP - VS) / (VS x VP)Where:VP = P-wave velocity (km/s)VS = S-wave velocity (km/s)
See related for the differences.
Triangulation. For more information on this process, please see the related question.
The difference in arrival time of the S and P-waves as measured at a seismometer station is used to estimate the distance to the epicentre of an earthquake. Data from at least three stations is required to triangulate the exact position. Information as also required about the density and elastic modulus of the rocks forming the crust to allow an accurate estimate of seismic wave velocity to be made. For more information on how seismologists locate the epicentre of an earthquake, please see the related question.