Name: Laura Maria W.
Status: Student
Age: 16
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: October 31, 2003
Question:
Why do seismic waves bend when they reach the boundary between the Earths
mantle and core? Why do they then carry on bending as they go through the mantle?
Replies:
The "long" answer is complicated. The short answer is that the speed of the wave depends
upon the properties of the medium through which it is traveling -- particularly the density
of the medium. Just as light is "bent" when it passes through glass or water because the
speed of light is different in different media, so too seismic waves are "bent" when they
pass through media of different densities.
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