What is the name of the fastest seismic wave?

The fastest seismic wave is the P-wave, or primary wave. It is a compressional wave that pushes and pulls material in the same direction that the wave travels.

P-waves move fastest because they travel through the elastic compression of rocks and other materials. They can pass through solids, liquids, and gases, allowing them to travel through both Earth’s crust and its liquid outer core. Seismographs therefore usually record P-waves before other earthquake waves.

S-waves, or secondary waves, arrive later because they move more slowly and vibrate material perpendicular to the direction of travel. Unlike P-waves, S-waves cannot pass through liquids, a clue that helped scientists infer that Earth’s outer core is liquid.

Love and Rayleigh waves are surface waves. They generally travel more slowly than body waves but often cause much of the destructive movement near the ground surface. The letter P means “primary,” reflecting their usual first arrival.