411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
P-wave
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P wave
English
Alternative forms
P wave
Etymology
From en primary p(rimary) + en wave.
Noun
P-wave
en geology seismology A longitudinal compressional wave produced by an earthquake.
en 2004 w:Richard Fortey The Earth 71 Folio Society 2011 P-waves are the first to arrive; that is, they travel fastest. These are ‘push-pull’ waves analogous to sound waves, in which each particle moves back and forth as the waves propagate.
Synonyms
seismic wave
See also
S-wave