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The Richter Scale—more appropriately called the magnitude scale—is one means of expressing the magnitude of an earthquake (i.e., the amount of energy released).
The Richter scale is used to rate the magnitude of an earthquake -- the amount of energy it released
RICHTER SCALEThe Richter scale (known as the local magnitude scale to seismologists) was originally developed to measure small to moderate magnitude earthquakes in southern California by Charles Richter and Beno Gutenberg. The numerical levels indicate the energy released by a particular quake. The numerical value is obtained from the logarithm of the maximum amplitude of seismic waves as recorded on a seismometer. This value is then scaled to account for the distance from the epicentre of the earthquake to the seismometer so as to allow the value to be correlated with the local magnitude readings from other seismometers in differing locations (as seismic waves lose their energy as they propagate through the earth so if this correction was not made, then different seismometer stations at different distances would give differing Richter magnitudes for the same earthquake). The Richter magnitude measurement produced by this methodology in theory has no limit and may be positive or negative.As stated above, the Richter scale itself is a logarithmic mathematical formula which is calibrated so that a ten fold increase in amplitude relates to a single whole number increase on the scale (e.g. an earthquake with a Richter magnitude of 5 has seismic waves with a maximum amplitude 10 times larger than those for a magnitude 4). It has a number of practical limitations, in that it is poor at recording earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 7 and at distances greater than 650 km from a seismometer.The equation for calculating the Richter magnitude (MR) is shown below:MR = (Log10A) - (Log10A0)WhereA = maximum zero to peak amplitude of seismic wave (mm) recorded.A0 = Empirical function derived from the distance from seismometer station to earthquake epicentreLog10A0 From 0 to 200 km distance:Log10A0 = 0.15 - 1.6 log(distance in km)Between 200 and 600 km distance by:Log10A0 = 3.38 - 3.0 log(distance in km)Due to the limitations described above (distance and maximum size of measurable earthquake), it has since been replaced by the Moment Magnitude Scale in the measurement of large earthquakes - for information on this, please see the related question.the richter scale reads the magnitude of earthquake.
Seismometers measure the amplitude of seismic waves as well as the velocity and acceleration of the grounds surface. This allows seismologists to estimate the magnitude of an earthquake (the amount of energy released). From the energy emission per unit time they can estimate the power of the earthquake.
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The Richter scale is a magnitude scale - it measures the amount of energy released by an earthquake. As such tit is a way of quantifying earthquake magnitude and comparing it to other earthquakes.
No. The scale you are describing is an intensity scale such as the modified Mercalli scale. The Richter scale is in fact a magnitude scale which describes the amount of energy released by an earthquake.
In seismology (the study of seismic waves or vibrations in the ground / earthquakes) the Richter scale is a magnitude scale. Magnitude scales show the amount of energy released by an earthquake. In the case of the Richter magnitude this is based on the amplitude of the seismic waves measured on a seismometer and the distance of the seismometer station from the epicentre of the earthquake. The magnitude value should be the same for a given earthquake no matter where it is recorded. The Mercalli scale is an intensity scale. This gives information on the perceived ground shaking in a specific location. The value is derived from witness reports on the perceived violence of the shaking, from the damage done to buildings and other infrastructure and also based on measurements from accelerometers and other seismic recording instruments in order to make the Mercalli intensity value a less subjective parameter. The intensity and damage to infrastructure can be influenced strongly by a number of variables including local ground conditions and the use (or otherwise) of earthquake resistant design. Please see the related questions for more information.
Richter scale.
An earthquake's magnitude is a measure of how strong it is
The Richter magnitude scale (ML) scale, assigns a single number to quantify the amount of seismic energy released by an earthquake. It is a logarithmic scale based upon the horizontal amplitude of the largest displacement from zero on a seismometer. Each whole unit (i.e., 1.0) corresponds to an approximate energy increase of 32 time (e.g., a 6.0 M earthquake has 32 time the energy release of a 5.0 M).
- The magnitude of an earthquake can be measured on a scale called Richter scale.- A Richter scale assigns a number each earthquake. This is also known as the Richter magnitude scale.
The Richter scale developed by Charles F. Richter in 1935 is used to rate the magnitude of an earthquake. It tells us roughly (probably very roughly) the amount of energy that has been released by the earthquake.
No. The scale you are describing is an intensity scale such as the modified Mercalli scale. The Richter scale is in fact a magnitude scale which describes the amount of energy released by an earthquake.
No. The scale you are describing is an intensity scale such as the modified Mercalli scale. The Richter scale is in fact a magnitude scale which describes the amount of energy released by an earthquake.
The Richter Scale—more appropriately called the magnitude scale—is one means of expressing the magnitude of an earthquake (i.e., the amount of energy released).