• Question: How does the energy from the earthquake get transfered to you

    Asked by fendt to Hannah, Christian on 14 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Christian Maerz

      Christian Maerz answered on 14 Jun 2013:

      Well, an earthquake is usually generated if two Earth plates try to scrape past each other. If they get hooked into each other, tension builds up that then gets released and creates an earthquake. This usually happens deep in the Earth.
      The energy this earthquake releases travels through the rocks by waves, and there are a number of different ones. But the basic principle is like if you throw a stone into the middle of a pond. Waves will be produced that concentrically move away from the impact point, and at some point reach the rim of the pond. Earthquake waves are similar, although they are traveling through the rocks much faster than through water.

    • Photo: Hannah Bentham

      Hannah Bentham answered on 14 Jun 2013:

      Think of the seismic waves as similar to ripples that travel away from a pebble you have just thrown into a lake.

      The energy is transferred through the rock by elastic waves, causing the particles in the rocks to vibrate. There are several types of waves and these transfer the energy slightly differently. P waves are compressional waves and push the particles backwards and forwards in the same direction as the wave. Whereas S waves are transverse waves and move the particles from side-to-side as the wave travels forwards.

      The rocks the wave travel through keep some of the energy so the closer you are to the origin of the earthquake, the more of the energy you will feel. Also, the speed of the wave depends on the properties of the rock it travels in.

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