If energy from an earthquake is released in form of a wave... ?

Question

Could someone please explain the whole seismograph thing to me? Like if energy from an earthquake is released in form of a wave... then how is that useful for the seismograph thingy and finding out the earthquake thing... AH SO CONFUSESING!

Answer 1

I'm not sure what your question is. But earthquakes produce three kinds of waves:

1. Compression or longitudinal waves (like sound waves) where the pressure changes occur in the same direction as the wave propagation.

2. Shear or transverse waves (like waves on a string).

3. Surface waves (like water waves.)

All of these travel at different speeds and the difference in arrival times is helpful in locating the earthquake source.

Seismographs are essentially sensitive pendulums that are set swinging by the arrival of the earthquake waves.

Answer 2

Yes it is.

What you seem to be missing is that the wave is one which travels through the soil, through the earth's landmass. It is the landmass itself that is "waving".

The wave is like a water wave that undulates on the surface of the water, except that here it undulates in the top layer of the earth.

Another type of wave is like a slinky spring that vibes back and forth. Well the earth also vibes back and forth near the earth's surface after being perturbed with a quake.

So it is the earth itself that is moving in a wavy motion, and it is this movement that then excites the seismograph.

The seismograph the records the land movement that it detects on a paper chart so you have a recording of the undulations of the waves, the movement of the landmass.

Where do the waves come from? Well the earthquake itself is a movement of the earth. That movement sets up and provides the energy that creates the wave.

If you drop your car into a lake you get a seperation of the water, where the car falls into the water, and from that "schism" of the water the waves eminate.

Same thing when the earth seperates, you get waves.

I tried to make explanation this as easy to understand as I could so please accept simplications I've made.

Answer 3

All energy is a wave :)

Answer 4

The earthquke is nothing but the sudden release of accumulated energy. This causes the earth to vibrate. There are three sensors in seismograph .One for east west,another one for north soth and the third for up and down motions. There are four types of waves generated from earthquakes.Each has got its own charesctors.This waves when it moves the earth it is recorded in seismograph with its arrival time and amplitude.This helps the seimiologist to study the behaviours and inner layer of eart.Please vist my site at google in my name to lean more on this.