P - wave - wikipedia P - wave This article is on the type of seismic wave. For the term used in electrocardiography, see P wave ( electrocardiography ). P - wave can also refer to a type of electronic wave function in atomic physics ; see atomic orbital. Part of a series on Earthquakes Types Foreshock Aftershock Blind thrust Doublet Interplate Intraplate Megathrust Remotely triggered Slow Submarine Supershear Tsunami Earthquake swarm Causes Fault movement Volcanism Induced seismicity Characteristics Epicenter Hypocenter Shadow zone Seismic waves P - wave S - wave Measurement Seismometer Seismic magnitude scales Seismic intensity scales Prediction Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction Forecasting Other topics Shear wave splitting Adams -- Williamson equation Flinn -- Engdahl regions Earthquake engineering Seismite Seismology Earth Sciences Portal Related topics Plane P - wave Representation of the propagation of a P - wave on a 2D grid ( empirical shape ) A P - wave is one of the two main types of elastic body waves, called seismic waves in seismology. P - waves travel faster than other seismic waves and hence are the first signal from an earthquake to arrive at any affected location or at a seismograph. P - waves may be transmitted through gases, liquids, or solids. Contents 1 Nomenclature 2 Seismic waves in the Earth 2.1 P - wave shadow zone 2.2 As an earthquake warning 3 Velocity 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Nomenclature The name P - wave can stand for either pressure wave ( as it is formed from alternating compressions and rarefactions ) or primary wave ( as it has high velocity and is therefore the first wave to be recorded by a seismograph ). In isotropic and homogeneous solids, the mode of propagation of a P - wave is always longitudinal ; thus, the particles in the solid vibrate along the axis of propagation ( the direction of motion ) of the wave energy. Seismic waves in the Earth See also : Core - mantle boundary, Mohorovičić discontinuity, Low - velocity zone, and Lehmann discontinuity Velocity of seismic waves in the Earth versus depth. The negligible S - wave velocity in the outer core occurs because it is liquid, while in the solid inner core the S - wave velocity is non-zero. Primary and secondary waves are body waves that travel within the Earth. The motion and behavior of both P - type and S - type in the Earth are monitored to probe the interior structure of the Earth. Discontinuities in velocity as a function of depth are indicative of changes in phase or composition. Differences in arrival times of waves originating in a seismic event like an earthquake as a result of waves taking different paths allow mapping of the Earth 's inner structure. P - wave shadow zone P - wave shadow zone ( from USGS ) Almost all the information available on the structure of the Earth 's deep interior is derived from observations of the travel times, reflections, refractions and phase transitions of seismic body waves, or normal modes. P - waves travel through the fluid layers of the Earth 's interior, and yet they are refracted slightly when they pass through the transition between the semisolid mantle and the liquid outer core. As a result, there is a P - wave `` shadow zone '' between 103 ° and 142 ° from the earthquake 's focus, where the initial P - waves are not registered on seismometers. In contrast, S - waves do not travel through liquids, rather, they are attenuated. As an earthquake warning Advance earthquake warning is possible by detecting the nondestructive primary waves that travel more quickly through the Earth 's crust than do the destructive secondary and Rayleigh waves. The amount of advance warning depends on the delay between the arrival of the P - wave and other destructive waves, generally on the order of seconds up to about 60 to 90 seconds for deep, distant, large quakes such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. The effectiveness of advance warning depends on accurate detection of the P - waves and rejection of ground vibrations caused by local activity ( such as trucks or construction ). Earthquake early warning systems can be automated to allow for immediate safety actions, such as issuing alerts, stopping elevators at the nearest floors and switching off utilities. Velocity The velocity of P - waves in a homogeneous isotropic medium is given by v p = K + 4 3 μ ρ = λ + 2 μ ρ ( displaystyle v_ ( p ) = ( sqrt ( \frac ( K+ ( \frac ( 4 ) ( 3 ) ) mu ) ( \rho ) ) ) = ( sqrt ( \frac ( lambda + 2 mu ) ( \rho ) ) ) ) where K is the bulk modulus ( the modulus of incompressibility ), μ ( displaystyle mu ) is the shear modulus ( modulus of rigidity, sometimes denoted as G and also called the second Lamé parameter ), ρ ( displaystyle \rho ) is the density of the material through which the wave propagates, and λ ( displaystyle lambda ) is the first Lamé parameter. Of these, density shows the least variation, so the velocity is mostly controlled by K and μ. The elastic moduli P - wave modulus, M ( displaystyle M ), is defined so that M = K + 4 μ / 3 ( displaystyle M = K + 4 mu / 3 ) and thereby v p = M / ρ ( displaystyle v_ ( p ) = ( sqrt ( M / \rho ) ) ) Typical values for P - wave velocity in earthquakes are in the range 5 to 8 km / s. The precise speed varies according to the region of the Earth 's interior, from less than 6 km / s in the Earth 's crust to 13.5 km / s in the lower mantle, and 11 km / s through the inner core. Velocity of Common Rock Types hide Rock Type Velocity ( m / s ) Velocity ( ft / s ) Unconsolidated Sandstone 4600 - 5200 15000 - 17000 Consolidated Sandstone 5800 19000 Shale 1800 - 4900 6000 - 16000 Limestone 5800 - 6400 19000 - 21000 Dolomite 6400 - 7300 21000 - 24000 Anhydrite 6100 20000 Granite 5800 - 6100 19000 - 20000 Gabbro 7200 23600 Geologist Francis Birch discovered a relationship between the velocity of P waves and the density of the material the waves are traveling in : V p = a ( M  ̄ ) + b ρ ( displaystyle V_ ( p ) = a ( ( \bar ( M ) ) ) + b \rho ) which later became known as Birch 's law. See also Earthquake early warning ( Japan ) Lamb waves Love wave S - wave Surface wave References Jump up ^ Milsom, J. ( 2003 ). Field Geophysics. The geological field guide series. 25. John Wiley and Sons. p. 232. ISBN 978 - 0 - 470 - 84347 - 5. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 25. Jump up ^ GR Helffrich & BJ Wood ( 2002 ). `` The Earth 's Mantle '' ( PDF ). Nature. Macmillan Magazines. 412 ( 2 August ) : 501 ; Figure 1. doi : 10.1038 / 35087500. Jump up ^ Justin L Rubinstein, DR Shelly & WL Ellsworth ( 2009 ). `` Non-volcanic tremor : A window into the roots of fault zones ''. In S. Cloetingh, Jorg Negendank. New Frontiers in Integrated Solid Earth Sciences. Springer. p. 287 ff. ISBN 90 - 481 - 2736 - X. The analysis of seismic waves provides a direct high - resolution means for studying the internal structure of the Earth... Jump up ^ CMR Fowler ( 2005 ). `` § 4.1 Waves through the Earth ''. The solid earth : an introduction to global geophysics ( 2nd ed. ). Cambridge University Press. p. 100. ISBN 0 - 521 - 58409 - 4. Seismology is the study of the passage of elastic waves through the Earth. It is arguably the most powerful method available for studying the structure of the interior of the Earth, especially the crust and mantle. Jump up ^ Lowrie, William. The Fundamentals of Geophysics. Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 149. Jump up ^ Dziewonski, Adam M. ; Anderson, Don L. `` Preliminary reference Earth model ''. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors. 25 ( 4 ) : 297 -- 356. Bibcode : 1981PEPI... 25... 297D. doi : 10.1016 / 0031 - 9201 ( 81 ) 90046 - 7. Jump up ^ `` Acoustic Logging ''. epa.gov. 2011 - 12 - 12. Retrieved 2015 - 02 - 03. `` Photo Glossary of Earthquakes ''. U.S. Geological Survey ``. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved March 8, 2009. External links Animation of a P - Wave P - Wave velocity calculator Purdue 's catalog of animated illustrations of seismic waves Animations illustrating simple wave propagation concepts by Jeffrey S. Barker Detection of P - waves and Rejection of Environmental Noise for Accurate Earthquake Early Warning Bayesian Networks for Earthquake Magnitude Classification in a Early Warning System Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=P-wave&oldid=849311929 '' Categories : Waves Fluid dynamics Seismology measurement Seismology Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles needing clarification from November 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Eesti Ελληνικά Español فارسی 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Bahasa Melayu Nederlands Norsk nynorsk Português Русский کوردی Српски / srpski Suomi தமிழ் Tiếng Việt West - Vlams 中文 10 more Edit links This page was last edited on 8 July 2018, at 03 : 35 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. 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Question: what is the approximate speed of p-waves traveling through earth's crust
Answer: less than 6 km/s