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The seismic wave has a p and an s component. The s wave is the shear portion, and it speaks to the uplift or dropping of the surface area being affected. This wave travels out like a wave over the surface of water. The p wave is a pressure wave that travels out like a sound wave from a speaker. There is a huge difference, however. With sound, the air is being compressed in front of the speaker, while with a quake, ground is being compressed. The compression wave travels MUCH faster in a solid than in a fluid like air. The p wave in a seismic event will travel almost twice as fast as the s wave, and that means that the s wave will arrive at a seismographic sensor later than a p wave.
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∙ 16y ago
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∙ 15y agoS waves arrive later because they travel slower than the P waves. Time t= distance/speed= D/s the slower the speed the longer the time of arrival.
P waves are longitudinal and S waves are Shear or Transverse.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoS Waves can not pass through liquid. And they travle slower.
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∙ 15y agoS-waves will arrive after P-waves.
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Are primary seismic waves slower than secondary waves?
Primary waves are called so because they are the first to arrive, and secondary waves are called so because they arrive second. Based on this logic I would say no. There is in fact a marked difference, which is used to tell how far away the epicenter is from a particular seismograph.
Do p waves or s waves have higher velocity?
P waves have a higher velocity than S waves. This is known because P waves (Primary waves) arrive at recording stations faster than all other waves. S waves (Secondary waves) arrive second at recording stations.
How do you understand what all the squiggly lines on a seismogram mean?
A seismograph records large P waves that are the fastest waves then it will recorded S waves which are bigger than the P Waves. Followed by surface waves.
How does seismographs detect and record seismic waves?
Well you know when you write a sentence, the paper stays in one place while your hand moves the pen. But in a seismograph, it's the pen that remains stationary while the paper moves. Why is this? All seismographs make use of a basic principle of physics: Whether it is moving or at rest, every object resists any change to its motion. A seismograph's heavy weight resists motion during a quake. But the rest of the seismograph is anchored to the ground and vibrates when seismic waves arrive.
What is the difference between p and s waves arrival time?
As P-waves travel at a higher velocity than S-waves they arrive at a seismometer station before the S-waves. The difference between their arrival time can be used to calculate the distance from the seismometer station to the epicentre.
Are primary seismic waves slower than secondary waves?
Primary waves are called so because they are the first to arrive, and secondary waves are called so because they arrive second. Based on this logic I would say no. There is in fact a marked difference, which is used to tell how far away the epicenter is from a particular seismograph.
These waves originate at the focus and can travel through all types of matter.?
P-waves, which may also be known as primary (as they arrive travel faster than other types of seismic waves and so are recorded on a seismometer first) or pressure waves as they propagate by the compression of matter.
What is the difference between a Siesmograph and a siesmogram?
SiesmographEarthquakes generate seismic waves which can be detected with a sensitive instrument called a seismograph. Advances in seismograph technology have increased our understanding of both earthquakes and the Earth itself.Perhaps the earliest seismograph was invented in China A.D. 136 by a m an named Choko.How Do I Read a Seismogram?When you look at a seismogram, there will be wiggly lines all across it. These are all the seismic waves that the seismograph has recorded. Most of these waves were so small that nobody felt them. These tiny microseisms can be caused by heavy traffic near the seismograph, waves hitting a beach, the wind, and any number of other ordinary things that cause some shaking of the seismograph. There may also be some little dots or marks evenly spaced along the paper. These are marks for every minute that the drum of the seismograph has been turning. How far apart these minute marks are will depend on what kind of seismograph you have.Figure 1 - A typical seismogram.So which wiggles are the earthquake? The P wave will be the first wiggle that is bigger than the rest of the little ones (the microseisms). Because P waves are the fastest seismic waves, they will usually be the first ones that your seismograph records. The next set of seismic waves on your seismogram will be the S waves. These are usually bigger than the P waves.Figure 2 - A cross-section of the earth, with earthquake wave paths defined and their shadow-zones highlighted.If there aren't any S waves marked on your seismogram, it probably means the earthquake happened on the other side of the planet. S waves can't travel through the liquid layers of the earth so these waves never made it to your seismograph.The surface waves (Love and Rayleigh waves) are the other, often larger, waves marked on the seismogram. They have a lower frequency, which means that waves (the lines; the ups-and-downs) are more spread out. Surface waves travel a little slower than S waves (which, in turn, are slower than P waves) so they tend to arrive at the seismograph just after the S waves. For shallow earthquakes (earthquakes with a focus near the surface of the earth), the surface waves may be the largest waves recorded by the seismograph. Often they are the only waves recorded a long distance from medium-sized earthquakes.
What is the order in which seismic waves are recorded by a seismometer?
Primary waves (P waves) arrive at a seismograph first. Then, Secondary waves arrive. Lastly, Surface waves occur and cause the most damage.
Do p waves or s waves have higher velocity?
P waves have a higher velocity than S waves. This is known because P waves (Primary waves) arrive at recording stations faster than all other waves. S waves (Secondary waves) arrive second at recording stations.
How do you understand what all the squiggly lines on a seismogram mean?
A seismograph records large P waves that are the fastest waves then it will recorded S waves which are bigger than the P Waves. Followed by surface waves.
Which waves s-waves or p-waves reach a seismograph first why?
The Pressure wave is a longitudinal wave - it is a compression/rarefaction wave and has the highest velocity.The Secondary wave is a transverse wave (side to side) and is much slower.
How does seismographs detect and record seismic waves?
Well you know when you write a sentence, the paper stays in one place while your hand moves the pen. But in a seismograph, it's the pen that remains stationary while the paper moves. Why is this? All seismographs make use of a basic principle of physics: Whether it is moving or at rest, every object resists any change to its motion. A seismograph's heavy weight resists motion during a quake. But the rest of the seismograph is anchored to the ground and vibrates when seismic waves arrive.
What are the first seismic waves to arrive at a seismic station?
P-waves are the first to arrive at a seismic station. There are two major types of waves: Body waves and surface waves. P-waves and S-waves come under Body waves while Love and Rayleigh waves come under surface waves. Body waves are much faster than the Surface waves. Waves are detected in the following order: P, S, Love and Rayleigh
What time does ups usaully arrive?
No later than 4:30
A seismograph station can determine its distance from an earthquake's epicenter by .?
P-waves and S-waves are released by an earthquake at the same time and travel out from the epicentre in all directions. However P-waves travel faster than S-waves so the further away from the earthquake's epicentre the greater the lead the P-waves have on the S-waves. Observation of the seismogram trace at the seismometer station will allow the scientists to find the P-wave and S-wave arrival times and measure the difference between them. As the P-waves are faster they always arrive first (hence their name - primary wave). The greater the difference between the time that the P-waves and S-waves first arrive (i.e. the greater the lead the P-waves have), the further the distance to the epicentre. They are able to use the time difference along with an estimate of the speed of the P-waves and S-waves to find the distance from the station to the earthquakes epicentre. For more information on this please see the related question.
What is the difference between p and s waves arrival time?
As P-waves travel at a higher velocity than S-waves they arrive at a seismometer station before the S-waves. The difference between their arrival time can be used to calculate the distance from the seismometer station to the epicentre.
