Seismic Waves Essay

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What do you think of when you hear the word waves? Many people think of the waves of the ocean and those are harmless, but there are some waves that can be harmful towards us. When there is an earthquake, it releases energy which shakes the Earth. The energy released from the earthquake is called a seismic wave. It’s called a seismic wave because the Greek word seismos, means earthquake. There are two different types of seismic waves produced when an earthquake occurs which are body waves and surface waves. There are two different types of body waves, called primary waves (longitudinal wave) and secondary waves (transverse wave). The surface wave moves in a vertical and horizontal direction, in a rolling motion, and travels below and along the ground’s surface. When there is an earthquake the primary wave is produced first, then the secondary wave and lastly the surface wave. The wave that causes the most destruction is the surface wave. These types of seismic waves can cause a bunch of damage to surrounding structures. In the year 1906 in San Francisco, California there was an earthquake. An eyewitness of the event, Police Lieutenant H.N. Powel said, …show more content…

One of the best solutions is to make the buildings or structures earthquake resistant. There are many different ways to make the damage to structures less of a problem but the idea I chose was invented by a Japanese inventor, Shoichi Sakamoto. He created Air Danshin. The idea is that there is an airbag under the house. When there isn’t an earthquake, the airbag is deflated under the house. There are sensors that can feel tremors and when they do feel the waves they switch on the compressor, which pumps air into the airbag. When the airbag is fully inflated it can lift the house three centimeters off of the ground. After the earthquakes the air will deflate and the house will be back on the ground.

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