Seismic Waves, Dispersion Of

Abstract

Seismic waves travelling through the interior or over the surface of a perfectly elastic, homogeneous, isotropic half-space are undispersed; that is, the frequencies of a given seismic phase travel at the same velocity. Under such circumstances a pulse will travel undistorted or without change of shape. Waves travelling through such bodies as spheres and cylinders, in general, exhibit the phenomenon of dispersion and an initially sharp pulse will broaden and, in the extreme case, become a train of waves.

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