P-waves
E672911
P-waves are primary seismic body waves that compress and expand the material they travel through and are the fastest type of earthquake-generated wave, moving through both solids and fluids.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
body wave
ⓘ
primary wave ⓘ seismic wave ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
compressional waves
ⓘ
longitudinal seismic waves ⓘ primary waves ⓘ |
| amplitude | generally smaller than S-wave amplitude at same distance ⓘ |
| arrivalOrder | first to arrive at a seismic station ⓘ |
| attenuation | generally lower attenuation than S-waves ⓘ |
| cannotTravelThrough | vacuum ⓘ |
| category |
earthquake-generated wave
ⓘ
elastic wave ⓘ |
| causes | alternating compression and dilation of rocks ⓘ |
| comparedToS-waves | faster than S-waves ⓘ |
| comparedToSurfaceWaves | arrive earlier than surface waves ⓘ |
| directionality | radial from the source in a homogeneous medium ⓘ |
| discoveryCentury | 19th century ⓘ |
| energyType | mechanical energy ⓘ |
| generatedBy |
earthquakes
ⓘ
explosions ⓘ sudden stress changes in the Earth ⓘ |
| governedBy | elastic wave equations ⓘ |
| hazardRelevance | often used for early warning before strong shaking ⓘ |
| motionType | compression and rarefaction of material ⓘ |
| particleMotionDirection | parallel to direction of wave propagation ⓘ |
| phaseNameInSeismology | P ⓘ |
| polarization | linear ⓘ |
| propagationMedium |
gases
ⓘ
liquids ⓘ solids ⓘ |
| recordedBy | seismometers ⓘ |
| recordedOn | seismograms ⓘ |
| reflection | can reflect at boundaries between different materials ⓘ |
| refraction | can refract when entering media with different velocities ⓘ |
| relativeSpeed | fastest seismic wave type ⓘ |
| speedDependsOn |
density of the medium
ⓘ
elastic properties of the medium ⓘ |
| travelsThrough |
Earth’s crust
ⓘ
Earth’s inner core ⓘ Earth’s mantle NERFINISHED ⓘ Earth’s outer core ⓘ |
| typicalVelocityInCrust | about 5 to 7 km/s ⓘ |
| typicalVelocityInMantle | about 8 to 14 km/s ⓘ |
| usedFor |
estimating earthquake magnitude
ⓘ
locating earthquake hypocenters ⓘ probing Earth’s internal structure ⓘ |
| waveType | longitudinal wave ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.