Kaiser effect (material science) Kaiser effect (material science) The Kaiser effect is a phenomenon observed in geology and material science that describes a pattern of acoustic emission or seismicity in a body of rock or other material subjected to repeated cycles of mechanical stress. In material that exhibits an initial seismic response under a certain load, the Kaiser effect describes the absence of acoustic emission or seismic events until that load is exceeded. The Kaiser effect results from discontinuities (fractures) created in material during previous steps that do not move, expand, or propagate until the former stress is exceeded. Induced seismicity associated with fluid
Seismic source Seismic source A seismic source is a device that generates controlled seismic energy used to perform both reflection and refraction seismic surveys. A seismic source can be simple, such as dynamite, or it can use more sophisticated technology, such as a specialized air gun. Seismic sources can provide single pulses or continuous sweeps of energy, generating seismic waves, which travel through a medium such as water or layers of rocks. Some of the waves then reflect and refract and are recorded by receivers, such as geophones or hydrophones. Seismic sources may be used to investigate shallow subsoil structure, for engineering