The Richter and moment magnitude scales (depending on the Earthquakes size).
Scientists measure the magnitude (energy) of an earthquake using a seismograph (sort of sensitive pendulum that records the shaking of the earth).
The most commonly referred to scale by the press and the public is the Richter scale for measuring earthquake magnitude. However this was actually replaced in the 1970s by the Moment Magnitude scale which is the magnitude scale favoured and in use by seismologists.
A magnitude 6 earthquake has 10 ten times the energy of a magnitude 5 earthquake.
An earthquake's magnitude is a measure of how strong it is
The magnitude of an earthquake is caluated to measure the amount of energy released during the earthquake.
7.2 magnitude
A magnitude 6 earthquake emits roughly 31 times more energy than a magnitude 5 earthquake. The magnitude 6 quake will also have a maximum seismic wave amplitude of ten times the magnitude 5 earthquake.
The Earthquake of February 27,2010 had a magnitude of 8.8
The magnitude of Haiti's recent earthquake was 7.0
Because the "magnitude scale is not linear, it is logarithmic (its numbers are an order of magnitude apart) this mean that the a magnitude 6 earthquake is TEN TIMES more powerful than a magnitude 5 earthquake and a HUNDRED TIMES more powerful than a magnitude 4 earthquake.
Because the "magnitude scale is not linear, it is logarithmic (its numbers are an order of magnitude apart) this mean that the a magnitude 6 earthquake is TEN TIMES more powerful than a magnitude 5 earthquake and a HUNDRED TIMES more powerful than a magnitude 4 earthquake.