What is the maximum value on the Richter scale?

Answer 1

Up to about 7. It's not very good at distinguishing between earthquakes stronger than that, which is one reason the actual Richter scale is no longer used (having been replaced in the 1970s or so). The moment magnitude scale that seismologists use now is sometimes miscalled the Richter scale, though it's different (and is much better at distinguishing between large quakes). As far as I know it doesn't have a theoretical upper limit, though the largest earthquake ever measured had a moment magnitude of 9.5.

Answer 2

The Richter Scale is open ended. There is no top limit.

The highest recorded value so far was 9.5 for an earthquake in Chile in 1960.

In prehistoric times, it is calculated that the chunk of material from outer space that hit the Yucatan Peninsula, possibly dooming the dinosaurs, would have caused a reading of 12.55 on the Richter Scale.

Answer 3

In theory, the scale has no upper limit, but in practice no earthquake in modern times has ever been registered above magnitude 9.5.

Further to this the Richter scale was designed to assess the magnitude of moderate strength earthquakes and so is not used to rate earthquakes with a magnitude greater than approximately 6.9. For large earthquakes, the moment magnitude scale is used.

At the extreme range, the comet that hit the Earth causing the dinosaur extinction is estimated to be 12.55 on the Richter scale for the amount of energy released.

Answer 4

Richter scale measures earthquake magnitude on a base-10 logarithmic scale typically on the range from 0 to 10, but the largest recorded earthquake to date was 9.5.

Each whole value on richter scale has a shaking amplitude 10 times larger than the previous lower number so a magnitude 5.0 is 10 times higher than a 4.0.

In theory the richter scale has no upper limit.

Answer 5

It's a system for measuring earthquake intensity.

There have been a couple of different Richter scales, which are more properly designated ML and MS. They use slightly different methods to determine how powerful a given earthquake is. One problem with both of them is that for large earthquakes they "top out" (ML at about 6.5, and MS at around 8), meaning that it's all but impossible to compare quakes above that point numerically.

The most widely used measurement for large quakes is now the moment magnitude scale MW. For smaller quakes (3.5 or less), ML is still commonly used.

Most laypeople still use the term "Richter scale" no matter which of the methods is being used, so it's nearly impossible to tell what is actually meant. Fortunately, over the ranges where the scales are all effective, the numerical values are at least roughly comparable, and unless you're a scientist the technical details probably don't matter all that much to you.

Answer 6

As a logarithmic scale base strictly on a mathematical equation, the Richter scale is technically open-ended. However, it is generally considered to run from 1.0 to 10.0.

Answer 7

measuring earthquakes

Answer 8

1-10

Answer 9

one to ten