Earthquake Scale 1 10

The 1960 valdivia earthquake or great chilean earthquake of sunday 22 may 1960 is to date the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in earth s history rating 9 5 on the moment magnitude scale.

Earthquake scale 1 10. Richter scale is a logarithmic scale with 10 as base. The richter scale also called the richter magnitude scale or richter s magnitude scale is a measure of the strength of earthquakes developed by charles f. Richter scale widely used quantitative measure of an earthquake s magnitude size devised in 1935 by american seismologists charles f.

His scale worked like a seismogram measured by a particular type of seismometer at a distance of 100 kilometers 62 mi from the earthquake. Magnitude is determined using the logarithm of the amplitude height of the largest seismic wave calibrated to a scale by a seismograph. In 1935 the american seismologist charles f.

Richter and beno gutenberg. Based on human reactions natural objects and man made structures the mercalli scale rates earthquakes on a scale of 1 to 12 with 1 denoting that nothing was felt and 12 denoting total destruction. The mercalli scale measures the intensity of an earthquake by quantifying the effects of an earthquake on the earth s surface.

The richter magnitude scale is a scale of numbers used to tell the power or magnitude of earthquakes. Magnitudes are usually determined from measurements of an earthquake s seismic waves as recorded on a seismogram. Earthquakes 4 5 or higher on the richter scale can be measured all over the world.

This was later revised and renamed the local magnitude scale denoted as ml or m l. Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or size of an earthquake these are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of ground shaking quaking caused by an earthquake at a given location. Richter set up a magnitude scale of earthquakes as the logarithm to base 10 of the maximum seismic wave amplitude in thousandths of a millimetre recorded on a standard seismograph the wood anderson torsion pendulum seismograph at a distance of 100 km 60 miles from the earthquake epicentre.

Thus the magnitude of 5 is ten times more severe than a magnitude of 4. Estimated number each year. Charles richter developed the richter scale in 1935.

Often felt but. Because of various shortcomings of the m l scale most. The calculation results of this scale are precise and the smallest earthquakes with negative magnitude values can also be recoded.