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What are body waves?

There are two types of Earthquake waves :

  • Body Waves
  • Surface waves


Body waves:

Due to the release of energy at focus, body waves are generated and it moves in all directions through the body of the earth.

There are two types of body waves:

  • P waves or Primary waves
  • S waves or Secondary Waves


P-Waves:

  • P waves are similar to sound waves. They travel through gaseous, liquid, and solid materials.
  • It moves faster and first to arrive at the surface.
  • P-waves vibrates parallel to the direction of waves and create density difference in the materials leading to stretching and squeezing of the material

S-Waves:

  • S waves are slower than p waves and reach the surface after some lag time.
  • S-waves can travel through only solid mediums and these features help to understand the structure of the interior of the earth. 
  • S-waves are the last to report on seismographs. 
  • S-waves cause more destruction as they cause the displacement of rocks. 
  • S-waves create troughs and crests in the material.
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