Explanation:Earthquakes and underground explosions can release a lot of energy. That energy ripples away from its source in a variety of ways. Some of those vibrations will move forward and back through the material they travel through . Other waves travel just like ocean waves, where they make the material they pass through move up and down compared to the direction the wave is traveling. And while some of these waves travel deep within the planet, still others move only along the surface. Studying where these various flavors of waves are and how they move not only can help scientists pinpoint where an earthquake or explosion occurred, but also can shed light on the structure of our inner planet.
Seismic waves are vibrations in the ground. These can be generated by a number of phenomena, including earthquakes, underground explosions, landslides or collapsing tunnels inside a mine. There are four major types of seismic waves, and each typically travels at different rates of speed. That’s one big reason why scientists are able to tell them apart. If the waves arrived at vibration-detecting instruments — seismometers (Sighs-MAH-meh-turz) — all at the same time, it would be difficult to tell them apart.
Another major difference between these types of waves is how a material will move as the wave passes through it. With these differences in mind, let’s review the major types of seismic waves.
Answers & Comments
Explanation:Earthquakes and underground explosions can release a lot of energy. That energy ripples away from its source in a variety of ways. Some of those vibrations will move forward and back through the material they travel through . Other waves travel just like ocean waves, where they make the material they pass through move up and down compared to the direction the wave is traveling. And while some of these waves travel deep within the planet, still others move only along the surface. Studying where these various flavors of waves are and how they move not only can help scientists pinpoint where an earthquake or explosion occurred, but also can shed light on the structure of our inner planet.
Seismic waves are vibrations in the ground. These can be generated by a number of phenomena, including earthquakes, underground explosions, landslides or collapsing tunnels inside a mine. There are four major types of seismic waves, and each typically travels at different rates of speed. That’s one big reason why scientists are able to tell them apart. If the waves arrived at vibration-detecting instruments — seismometers (Sighs-MAH-meh-turz) — all at the same time, it would be difficult to tell them apart.
Another major difference between these types of waves is how a material will move as the wave passes through it. With these differences in mind, let’s review the major types of seismic waves.