Richter scale range

Whenever a major earthquake is in the news, you'll probably hear about its Mercalli Scale rating, though this isn't discussed as often. These two ratings describe the power of the earthquake from two different perspectives. The most common standard of measurement for an earthquake is the Richter scale, developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter of the California Institute of Technology. The Richter scale is used to rate the magnitude of an earthquake -- the amount of energy it released. This is calculated using information gathered by a seismograph. The Richter scale is logarithmic, meaning that whole-number jumps indicate a tenfold increase. In this case, the increase is in wave amplitude. That is, the wave amplitude in a level 6 earthquake is 10 times greater than in a level 5 earthquake, and the amplitude increases 100 times between a level 7 earthquake and a level 9 earthquake. The amount of energy released increases 31.7 times between whole number values. As we previously noted, most earthquakes are extremely small. A majority of quakes register less than 3 on the Richter scale; these tremors, called microquakes, aren't even felt by humans. Only a tiny portion -- 15 or so of the 1.4 million quakes that register above 2.0 -- register at 7 or above, which the threshold for a quake being considered major [source: Richter ratings only give you a rough idea of the actual impact of an earthquake, though. As we've seen, an earthquake's destructive power varies depending on the ...

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake caused a small tsunami to wash ashore on South Pacific islands Friday Richter scale ( M L), quantitative measure of an The Richter scale was originally devised to measure the magnitude of earthquakes of moderate size (that is, magnitude 3 to magnitude 7) by assigning a number that would allow the size of one earthquake to be compared with another. The scale was developed for temblors occuring in southern California that were recorded using the Wood-Anderson seismograph and whose On the original Richter scale, the smallest earthquakes measurable at that time were assigned For earthquakes measuring magnitude 6.5 or greater, Richter’s original Modified Richter scales The shortcomings body-wave magnitude scale ( m b, which calculates the magnitude of primary, or P, and secondary, or S, seismic waves traveling within Earth) and the surface-wave magnitude scale ( M S, which calculates the magnitude of Love and Rayleigh waves traveling along Moment magnitude scale The M W or M) scale, developed in the late 1970s by Japanese seismologist M 0)—that is, the displacement of the fault across its entire surface multiplied by the force used to move the fault. Since the moment magnitude scale was not limited by Richter’s process, it avoided the saturation problem and thus was used to determine the magnitudes of the largest earthquakes. Moment magnitude calculations, however, continue to express earthquake magnitude using a logarithmic scale, which allows its re...

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Think about how we measure things on a daily basis. If we're trying to measure how much something weighs, we might use ounces or pounds. If we're trying to measure how long something is, we might use inches or feet. Having a standard unit of measurement gives us a universal language and allows us to compare measurements of multiple objects. This is the reason that the Richter scale was invented: to measure the magnitude, meaning the strength, of an earthquake. Charles Richter invented the Richter scale in 1935. He was a seismologist, someone who studies earthquakes. Charles was not always interested in earthquakes, and he says that he actually became involved in seismology by accident. Originally, Charles was a physics doctoral student studying at the California Institute of Technology. When a professor asked him if he would like to work in the seismology laboratory, he agreed, even though Charles was not studying earthquakes. Charles invented the Richter scale when working at Carnegie Institution in Pasadena, California, as a research assistant to seismologist Beno Gutenberg. At first, the Richter scale was only developed for use in Southern California, but it can now be used to measure earthquakes all over the world. The Richter scale uses a numerical system to measure the magnitude of an earthquake. The earthquakes are measured to the nearest tenth (for example, 5.7). Most earthquakes are small with a measurement of less than three. These are known as 'micro-quakes' and...

Marian Fuchs Marian has a Bachelors degree in biology/chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Superior. She has 4 years of experience teaching biology, geology, and ecology, and English language to children ranging from kindergarten to high school seniors, as well as experience caring for and training marine mammals. • Instructor What is the Richter Scale? The Richter scale can be defined as a system used to measure the strength or magnitude of an earthquake. It measures the amount of ground shaking and energy released from an earthquake. It is an earthquake scale but its measurements cannot be physically seen. When there is an earthquake, the Richter scale is used to measure its intensity. It is not used to measure the amount of destruction to an area, as this depends on multiple factors The Richter scale was invented by seismologist Charles Richter (1900-1985) in 1935. Seismologists are scientists that study earthquakes. Originally, Richter studied physics and did not have any connection or interest in seismology. Richter was a student at the California Institute of Technology, and when he was studying physics, he was approached by a professor and asked if he would work in their seismology lab. Richter agreed, and that is where his interest in earthquakes began. Richter was an assistant to seismologist Beno Gutenburg at the Carnegie Institution in Pasadena, California when he invented the Richter scale. Originally, the Richter scale was focused on use for earthquakes ...