A secondary, or shear, body seismic wave that travels through the depth of the Earth. S-waves can only be transmitted by solids.

The secondary wave, traveling slower than the P- wave, and consisting of a seismic vibration transverse to the direction of travel.

shear wave or transverse wave. Sometimes called converted waves because the particle motion is perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Shear waves are generated by the incidences of P-waves on surfaces at other than normal incidence.

Secondary seismic waves. A seismic wave with a direction of vibration that is perpendicular to the direction of travel. S-waves are slower than P-waves and travel only through solids.

A body wave in which particles move perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Also known as secondary or shear wave.

A transverse shock wave, produced by fracture of rocks at the focus of an earthquake. They travel more slowly than P-waves.

A seismic body wave which propagates by a shearing motion; particle vibrate in a direction perpendicular to that of the propagation of the wave. Slower than the P-wave, the S-wave always arrives after the P-wave (the "S" stands for "secondary"). Its speed is roughly 3 to 4 km/sec in the crust and 4.4 to 4.6 km/sec in the upper mantle. Because of its shearing motion, it cannot propagate through liquids. The S-wave is responsible for our determination that the Earth's outer core is liquid, since S-waves cannot travel through the outer core.

shear wave, produced essentially by the shearing or tearing motions of earthquakes at right angles to the direction of wave propagation; see Seismic Wave.

A "ripple" wave produced by an earthquake. The "S" is from the Italian "Segundo," indicating that S-waves arrived at seismic stations after the P-waves.

A type of seismic wave, the S-wave, secondary wave, or shear wave, sometimes called an elastic S-wave, is one of the two main types of elastic body waves, so named because they move through the body of an object, unlike surface waves.