The energy that is released by an earthquake is formed due to the accumulation of elastic strain energy in the crust around a fault due to deformation (a bit like the energy stored in a compressed spring).
As the stress and resultant strain accumulates, it ultimately exceeds the shear strength of the rock mass in the fault zone or the shear strength of the fault itself and causes a brittle failure or rupture to occur. This causes sudden movement, fracturing of the rock mass and a sudden release of the accumulated elastic strain energy in the form of seismic waves, heat and sound.
Energy is stored in the form of stress as tectonic plates move and become locked against each other. As the plates continue to move and the stress builds up, the stored energy increases until it reaches a point where the rocks break and release the energy in the form of seismic waves, causing an earthquake.
The energy released during a 7.0 earthquake is equivalent to about 32 million pounds of TNT, which is a massive amount of energy. The destruction caused by such an earthquake can be widespread and devastating.
The 1960 Chile earthquake, also known as the Valdivia earthquake, released energy equivalent to about 1,000 megatons of TNT, making it the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 has a shaking amplitude 10 times that of an earthquake with a 4.0 magnitude.
The energy output of a magnitude 6 earthquake is approximately 32 times greater than that of a magnitude 5 earthquake. Magnitude scales such as the Richter scale are logarithmic, so each whole number increase represents a tenfold increase in amplitude and approximately 32 times more energy release.
God created energy.
Earthquake Visions was created in 1994.
The Earthquake in Chile was created in 1807.
Earthquake - comics - was created in 1980.
Roughly 32 times more energy is released in a Magnitude 6 earthquake than in a Mag.5 quake.
Another Earthquake was created on 2002-09-03.
Earthquake Glue was created on 2003-08-19.
Electric Earthquake was created on 1942-05-15.
I believe it's related to the heat from Earth's interior, which in turn is mainly due to radioactive decay.
The earthquake magnitude is a measure of the energy released during an earthquake. The scale is logarithmic, such that a magnitude of 6.0 releases about 32 times more energy than a magnitude 5.0 earthquake, and in turn more than 900 times more energy than a magnitude 4.0 earthquake.
In terms of energy output an earthquake is stronger.
Seismic energy increases by a factor of about 31.6 for each increase of magnitude, so a magnitude 3 earthquake has 31.6 times more energy released than a magnitude 2 earthquake.