Type of elastic wave propagating through the solid body (see ).
Synonym: Secondary wave (s-wave) = Shear wave
A body wave caused by oscillation of a shear stress in a matter and as such resulting in strain oscillations perpendicular to the direction of s-wave propagation.
In terms of corpuscular structure of the matter the s-wave is characterised by the fact that particles of the matter are moving back and forth perpendicular to the s-wave travel direction (see Fig. 1).
S-wave can s-waves can propagate through solids only and move slower than p-wave.
When all body waves are excited at the same time the s-wave arrives after the p-wave to the sensor, hence the term name "seconday wavesecondary".
See also
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Physics / Mechanics / Continuum mechanics / Mechanical waves / Body wave
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