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S-waves do not travel through liquids. What instrument with P-waves but no S-waves indicates that the earthquake occurred on the other side of Earth because the S-waves didn't travel through the liquid outer core?

User Rahul Raj
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Final answer:

Seismographs are instruments that detect P-waves but not S-waves from an earthquake on the other side of Earth, indicating that S-waves cannot pass through the liquid outer core.

Step-by-step explanation:

The instrument that records P-waves but no S-waves and thus indicates that an earthquake occurred on the other side of Earth is a seismograph. S-waves, being transverse or shear waves, cannot travel through Earth's liquid outer core, which creates an S-wave shadow zone on the opposite side of the planet from the earthquake's epicenter. P-waves, also known as compression waves or pressure waves, can travel through both solid and liquid layers of the Earth. This difference in the ability of P-waves but not S-waves to travel through liquid is key to understanding the internal structure of Earth, as it suggests the existence of a liquid outer core surrounding a solid inner core.

User Herlon Aguiar
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