Primary Wave | Seismology - Britannica

Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos primary wave References Images & Videos Contents primary wave seismology Ask Anything Homework Help Also known as: P wave, compressional wave Britannica AI Ask Anything Homework Help

Learn about this topic in these articles:

earthquakes

• In earthquake: Principal types of seismic waves

  The P seismic waves travel as elastic motions at the highest speeds. They are longitudinal waves that can be transmitted by both solid and liquid materials in the Earth’s interior. With P waves, the particles of the medium vibrate in a manner similar to sound waves—the…

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infrasonics

• In infrasonics

  …a transverse body wave; the P-wave, a longitudinal body wave; and the L-wave, which propagates along the boundary of stratified mediums. L-waves, which are of great importance in earthquake engineering, propagate in a similar way to water waves, at low velocities that are dependent on frequency. S-waves are transverse body…

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longitudinal waves

• In longitudinal wave

  The P (primary) seismic waves are also longitudinal. In a longitudinal wave, each particle of matter vibrates about its normal rest position and along the axis of propagation, and all particles participating in the wave motion behave in the same manner, except that there is a…

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type of seismic wave

• In Earth exploration: Seismic refraction methods

  …can travel through a body: P waves (primary) and S waves (secondary). P waves are compressional waves and travel at the highest velocity; hence, they arrive first. S waves are shear waves that travel at a slower rate and are not able to pass through liquids that do not possess…

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