Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The first scale for measuring earthquake magnitudes, developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter and popularly known as the "Richter" scale, is actually the local magnitude scale, label ML or M L. [11] Richter established two features now common to all magnitude scales.
The Richter scale [1] (/ ˈ r ɪ k t ər /), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, [2] is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and presented in Richter's landmark 1935 paper, where he called it the "magnitude scale". [3]
A major earthquake measuring 7.4 hit Taiwan early Wednesday, killing 9 and injuring at least 1,000. A 7.4 earthquake is exponentially more destructive than the 4.8 quake that struck central New ...
Seismic intensity scales categorize the intensity or severity of ground shaking (quaking) at a given location, such as resulting from an earthquake. They are distinguished from seismic magnitude scales , which measure the magnitude or overall strength of an earthquake, which may, or perhaps may not, cause perceptible shaking.
Seismic moment is the basis of the moment magnitude scale introduced by Caltech's Thomas C. Hanks and Hiroo Kanamori, which is often used to compare the size of different earthquakes and is especially useful for comparing the sizes of large (great) earthquakes. The seismic moment is not restricted to earthquakes.
The magnitude of an earthquake is related to the total area of its fault rupture. [8] Most earthquakes are small, with rupture dimensions less than the depth of the focus so the rupture doesn't break the surface, but in high magnitude, destructive earthquakes, surface breaks are common. [ 8 ]
This magnitude scale is related to the local magnitude scale proposed by Charles Francis Richter in 1935, with modifications from both Richter and Beno Gutenberg throughout the 1940s and 1950s. [1] [2] It is currently used in People's Republic of China as a national standard (GB 17740-1999) for categorising earthquakes. [3]
Despite the difference, news media often use the term "Richter scale" when referring to the moment magnitude scale. Moment magnitude (M w ) is considered the authoritative magnitude scale for ranking earthquakes by size. [2] It is more directly related to the energy of an earthquake than other scales, and does not saturate – that is, it does ...