Question

Which of the two types of waves arrives first?
@eric_d

Answer 1

Hmm, what do you think?

Answer 2

P or S

Answer 3

@geny55 Please ask this question in the relevant section.

Answer 4

umm..

Answer 5

There are two types of body waves, P waves and S waves. P waves (also called primary waves) are compression waves. Like sound waves, they consist of compressions and rarefactions of the material through which they travel. The compressions and rarefactions are in the same direction that the wave is traveling. S waves (also called secondary waves) are transverse (or shear) waves, meaning that the ground moves perpendicularly to the direction of travel. S waves have much higher amplitude than P waves, but travel more slowly. They carry more destructive force than P waves. Another difference between P waves and S waves is that S waves cannot travel through the Earth's liquid core, while P waves can. S waves can therefore be detected by seismometers near the epicenter of an earthquake, but not by more distant seismometers. P waves can be detected by both local and distant seismometer.