elastic wave

American  

noun

Physics.

1. a wave propagated by the elastic deformation of a medium.

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Etymology

Origin of elastic wave

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

The first wave, called an elastic wave, temporarily deformed the crystal; its atoms bounced back into their original positions right away, like a rubber band that's been stretched and released.

From Science Daily • Oct. 5, 2023

In an elastic wave propagated from a centre of impulse in an infinitely extended volume of a perfect gas, normal vibrations are alone propagated—as is the case with sound in air.

From The Eruption of Vesuvius in 1872 by Palmieri, Luigi

The elastic wave varies in velocity from 800 to 1,000 feet per second in sand or clay to three miles per second in solid granite.

From Complete Story of the San Francisco Horror by Linthicum, Richard