This lesson will describe the main types of earthquake waves, their properties, motion, and effects--including which cause the most damage. Waves discussed include P-waves, S-waves, Rayleigh waves, and Love waves. Updated: 12/30/2019
Energetic Waves
An earthquake strikes and everyone panics, diving for the nearest sturdy table or door-frame. Earthquakes can cause huge amounts of death and destruction. Understanding them is important if we want to save both lives and property. But earthquakes, like light, sound, or infrared, are nothing more than waves. So, how is it that a wave can cause such incredible damage?
Waves carry energy. Earthquake waves are waves in the earth, and they're extremely high energy. Earthquakes are caused by the movements of tectonic plates, which are sections in the earth's crust that float on the liquid magma underneath. Most of the Pacific Ocean, for example, makes up the Pacific Plate. When these huge plates collide, or slide alongside one another, the resulting friction creates earthquake waves. But, since the plates are so large and the movements so significant, the waves have a lot of energy stored in them. This gives earthquakes the potential to cause massive damage.
The strength of an earthquake is measured using a piece of equipment called a seismometer. The measurement gives an earthquake a number on the Richter scale. The largest earthquake ever recorded was in Chile in 1960, and registered a 9.5 on the Richter scale.
