Modelling how the energy of seismic waves is transmitted

The ELI 'Merry waves - all year round' models how the energy of seismic waves is transmitted. It demonstrates how the vibration of particles by the propagation of pressure waves does not cause noticeable displacement of mass.

 Pupils can find it difficult to visualise how energy can be transferred through a material as a wave without noticeable displacement of mass. Many people also think that all waves involve movement of mass – thinking, for example, that the movement of a tsunami wave across the ocean involves movement of masses of water sideways, in the same way as they have seen waves moving across a beach.
Such misconceptions may be related to some models used to show propagation of seismic waves. For example, models using ropes and springs clearly show backwards and forwards movement (for P-waves) or sideways movement (for S-waves) of the mass of material, whereas they are actually modelling the movement of molecules, not the whole mass of the material. This distinction is often not stressed to pupils.
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