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Q: Why would surface waves be more damaging than p waves and S waves?
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Which r the most damaging and slower p waves or s waves?

s waves are slower and more damaging


Which are more destructive body waves or surface waves?

Surface waves.


Is it true that surface waves move more quickly than p and s waves?

no, p waves are the fastest followed by s waves and finally surface waves


What type of seismic waves that arrive at the surface first?

Those are the P-waves, which are the fastest and weakest.


What causes seismic waves during an earthquake?

The seismic waves that cause the majority of damage in earthquakes are the surface waves of which there are two types.Rayleigh waves.Love waves.Surface waves have high amplitudes (which in turn means they have a large amount of energy).These high amplitude surface waves cause surface deformations. Rayleigh waves are very similar to the waves you would see on the surface of water. Love waves are surface shear waves and are similar to the waves you would get if you stretched out a slinky spring then shook one end from side to side.These surface movements create large torsional and shear stresses in buildings and building foundations which are far in excess of what the normal design tolerances would be. As such they are much more likely to cause failure of structures to occur. This is why, in earthquake prone areas such as California, the buildings must be designed to resist these special stresses created by seismic waves as well as the more normal loads caused by the wind and the structures self weight.Please see the related links for more information on the differing types of surface waves.

Related questions

Which r the most damaging and slower p waves or s waves?

s waves are slower and more damaging


Which are more destructive body waves or surface waves?

Surface waves.


Identify which seismic waves cause most of the damage during an earthquake?

Seismic waves are produced by earthquakes, rather than the cause of them! The most damaging seismic waves are the surface waves of which there are two types. Love waves and Rayleigh waves. For more information, please see the related links and question.


Why are Love waves and Rayleigh waves more destructive than P-waves and S-waves?

Love and Rayleigh waves are also known as surface waves as they travel along the surface of the earth. As the earth's surface is a free boundary, these surface waves have a larger amplitude than P and S (or body waves)which travel through the earth's interior. The amplitude of a wave is related to the amount of energy it has, where high amplitude waves have more energy! This means that the high amplitude high energy surface waves are capable of transferring more energy into structures or other objects on the surface and so can do more damage.


Is it true that surface waves move more quickly than p waves and s waves?

no, p waves are the fastest followed by s waves and finally surface waves


Is it true that surface waves move more quickly than p and s waves?

no, p waves are the fastest followed by s waves and finally surface waves


How many surface waves are there?

There is Two types of surface waves :)


Why are surface waves more destructive to building p waves or s waves?

Because surface waves have a larger amplitude and thus more energy and so can cause more damage than P and S waves. they are more destructive because they are on the suface and because they are slowerRate This Answer


What type of seismic waves that arrive at the surface first?

Those are the P-waves, which are the fastest and weakest.


What waves are more dangerous in an earthquake?

surface waves are more dangerous than body waves with up and down movements.


Why are surface waves the most destructive waves?

Surface waves travel more slowly than body waves but are mor distructive. Most of the damage during an earthquake comes from surface waves which can literally shake the ground out from under a building.


What causes seismic waves during an earthquake?

The seismic waves that cause the majority of damage in earthquakes are the surface waves of which there are two types.Rayleigh waves.Love waves.Surface waves have high amplitudes (which in turn means they have a large amount of energy).These high amplitude surface waves cause surface deformations. Rayleigh waves are very similar to the waves you would see on the surface of water. Love waves are surface shear waves and are similar to the waves you would get if you stretched out a slinky spring then shook one end from side to side.These surface movements create large torsional and shear stresses in buildings and building foundations which are far in excess of what the normal design tolerances would be. As such they are much more likely to cause failure of structures to occur. This is why, in earthquake prone areas such as California, the buildings must be designed to resist these special stresses created by seismic waves as well as the more normal loads caused by the wind and the structures self weight.Please see the related links for more information on the differing types of surface waves.