A P wave (primary wave or pressure wave) is one of the two main types of elastic body waves, called seismic waves in seismology. P waves travel faster than other seismic waves and hence are the first signal from an earthquake to arrive at any affected location or at a seismograph. P waves may be transmitted through gases, liquids, or solids.
The name P wave can stand for either pressure wave (as it is formed from alternating compressions and rarefactions) or primary wave (as it has high velocity and is therefore the first wave to be recorded by a seismograph).
The name S wave represents another seismic wave propagation mode, standing for secondary or shear wave.
Core-mantle boundaryMohorovičić discontinuityLow-velocity zone and Lehmann discontinuity
Primary and secondary waves are body waves that travel within the Earth. The motion and behavior of both P and S waves in the Earth are monitored to probe the interior structure of the Earth. Discontinuities in velocity as a function of depth are indicative of changes in phase or composition. Differences in arrival times of waves originating in a seismic event like an earthquake as a result of waves taking different paths allow mapping of the Earth's inner structure.
Almost all the information available on the structure of the Earth's deep interior is derived from observations of the travel times, reflections, refractions and phase transitions of seismic body waves, or normal modes. P waves travel through the fluid layers of the Earth's interior, and yet they are refracted slightly when they pass through the transition between the semisolid mantle and the liquid outer core. As a result, there is a P-wave "shadow zone" between 103° and 142° from the earthquake's focus, where the initial P waves are not registered on seismometers. In contrast, S waves do not travel through liquids.
Advance earthquake warning is possible by detecting the nondestructive primary waves that travel more quickly through the Earth's crust than do the destructive secondary and Rayleigh waves.
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Following an introduction of the main plasma properties, the fundamental concepts of the fluid and kinetic theory of plasmas are introduced. Applications concerning laboratory, space, and astrophysica
NOTOC In seismology and other areas involving elastic waves, S waves, secondary waves, or shear waves (sometimes called elastic S waves) are a type of elastic wave and are one of the two main types of elastic body waves, so named because they move through the body of an object, unlike surface waves. S waves are transverse waves, meaning that the direction of particle movement of a S wave is perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation, and the main restoring force comes from shear stress.
thumb|Sismogramme selon trois composantes perpendiculaires (nord-sud, est-ouest et haut-bas). Un sismogramme est un enregistrement en fonction du temps des ondes sismiques qui se propagent lors d'un séisme, généralement réalisé au moyen d'un sismographe. L'abscisse du graphique représente le temps alors que l'ordonnée représente l'amplitude du déplacement, de la vitesse ou de l'accélération de l'onde sismique selon un ou des axes donnés (x, y, ou z). Dans le cas d'un enregistrement en accélération, on parle plus spécifiquement d'accélérogramme.
A P wave (primary wave or pressure wave) is one of the two main types of elastic body waves, called seismic waves in seismology. P waves travel faster than other seismic waves and hence are the first signal from an earthquake to arrive at any affected location or at a seismograph. P waves may be transmitted through gases, liquids, or solids. The name P wave can stand for either pressure wave (as it is formed from alternating compressions and rarefactions) or primary wave (as it has high velocity and is therefore the first wave to be recorded by a seismograph).
Learn the basics of plasma, one of the fundamental states of matter, and the different types of models used to describe it, including fluid and kinetic.
Learn the basics of plasma, one of the fundamental states of matter, and the different types of models used to describe it, including fluid and kinetic.