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Theoretically yes, but in reality no, at least on the Earth. The reason of this has to do with the nature of an earthquake forming and the rocks that the earthquake forms in. When tectonic plates move against each other they often get caught and stop, as it is usually not a smooth contact. The driving force moving the plates causes a stress to build up to a point where it can overcome the "snag", and the plates will suddenly shift based on the stored up energy. Large earthquakes happen where large amounts of energy were built up before being released. The reason the Richter scale doesn't go above 10 on earth is because the rocks at the plate boundaries will usually "give in" before that much energy is able to be stored.

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Q: Can the Richter scale go higher than ten?
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Related questions

Does the Richter scale measure how deep an earthquake is?

No. The Richter's scale measures the magnitude or intensity of an earthquake on a scale up to ten.


Why Richter Scale is Non-Linear?

The Richter scale is not a linear scale. This means that an earthquake of magnitude 6 does not have twice as destructive power as the earthquake of magnitude 3. Actually, an earthquake with magnitude 5 is ten times more destructive than an earthquake of magnitude 4. The Richter scale is a logarithmic scale.


How are earthquakes measured against the Richter scale?

the Richter scale depends on the amplitude of the largest seismic wave recorded on a seismogram . A ten-fold increase in the amplitude is registered as an increase of 1 on the Richter scale.


What is the definition for magnitude scale?

A magnitude scale is simply a metric for quantifying the energy released in an earthquake and the amplitude of the waves the earthquake emits. The most well-known magnitude scale in America is the Richter scale, which is equated in base 10 (that is, an earthquake that scores 5.0 on the Richter scale will have an Amplitude ten times greater than that of an earthquake that scores a 4.0 on the Richter scale).


Which scale is used to find the intesity of an earthquake?

The Richter scale, each number is ten times more stronger than the previous number. A #6 earthquake is ten times more power than a number 5 earthquake.


Is it true that On the Richter scale an earthquake measuring 2 is ten times stronger than one measuring 3?

No, it is the other way round - higher numbers indicate a stronger earthquake. The factor 10 is correct, though.


What scale helps you determine the magnitude of an earthquake?

There are two instruments, which are basically the same thing. There is the seismograph , and a more specific tool measures the waves on what is called the Richter scale. Earthquakes are given a number from one to ten, ten being the strongest. The strongest earthquake that their ever was, was measured a 9.3.


What is the definination of rector scale?

I suspect that you mean the "Richter scale." I am not familiar with the "rector scale." The Richter scale is a method to describe the amount of energy released by an earthquake as recorded at a specific location. Since the release of energy covers a very wide range of values, the scale is logarithmic, meaning that for every increase in a whole number, the energy is ten times greater. Thus an earthquake registering 5 on the Richter scale is ten times more powerful than an earthquake registering 4 on the Richter scale.


When and where were the last ten earthquakes which measured above seven on the Richter scale?

the answer is in Hatti it was a 12


How many times greater in strength is an earthquake rated 4 on the Richter Scale tha an earthquake rated 2?

Each number on the Richter scale is TEN TIMES stronger than the lower number. Therefore - in this case, a strength 4 quake is 100 times stronger than a strength 2.


When the measure of the intensity of an earthquake on the Richter scale goes up in magnitude by two what does it imply?

I assume that you mean the Richter scale and not richer scale. The Richter scale is a logarithmic (base 10) scale. An increase in magnitude of 2 represents an increase in amplitude by a factor of 100.


What term defines the size of earthquake?

The Richter Scale is the established scale for earthquakes based on size and power.When you see that an earthquake is a magnitude 5.2 it means that it is a 5.2 on the Richter scale.For every increase of one on the Richter scale, an earthquake's power is magnified tenfold. So, a magnitude 4 is ten times stronger than a magnitude 3 earthquake.Anything over a magnitude 5 is a really big earthquake.