Information About

S-wave




)]]

Its name, S for secondary, comes from the fact that is will arrive second to the faster P-wave, though they are also know as shear wave. Unlike the P-wave, the S-wave cannot travel through the molten Outer Core of the Earth. This causes a Shadow Zone for S-waves opposite to where they originate.

The velocity of an S-wave can be described by the Shear Modulus and Density .

Even though S-waves cannot pass through the molten outer core, they can still appear in the solid Inner Core . When a P-wave strikes this boundary of molten and solid cores, called the Lehmann Discontinuity , S-waves will propagate in the solid medium. And as the S-waves move through to strike the outer core they will in turn create P-waves. In fact, this property allows Seismologists to determine the nature of the inner core.


SEE ALSO