Appeal No. 1999-1663
Application No. 08/715,221
four types of waves that can propagate in an elastic body.
We summarize these waves as follows (brief,
page 18):
(1) “longitudinal waves” are body waves containing a
compression element;
(2) “transverse or shear waves” are body waves
containing only a shear component;
(3) “Rayleigh waves” are surface waves containing
compression and shear components in phase quadrature, and
(4) “Love waves” are surface waves containing only a
shear component.
The appellants acknowledge (brief, page 22) that “it
appears from Attachments E and F that a disturbance in an
elastic body will produce all four types of waves . . . .”
The appellants assert (id.) that it is not entirely clear,
however, that a transverse wave propagating through an elastic
body as occurs in Thompson (‘836) will produce the other
three types of waves. The appellants further assert that even
assuming arguendo that the transverse waves 5 and 29 of
Thompson (‘836) produce surface waves, the transducers 1 and
21 of Thompson (‘836) cannot (brief, pages 23-24) detect
surface waves, and therefore cannot measure the acoustic
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