#1.Seismologists, people who study earthquakes, often use the Richter scale to describe the strength of the?

2 comments

1. 

   psunuc on January 9, 2010 at 4:36 am

   It is a base-10 logarithmic scale obtained by calculating the logarithm of the combined horizontal amplitude of the largest displacement from zero on a Wood-Anderson torsion seismometer output.

   So, for example, an earthquake that measures 5.0 on the Richter scale is 10 times larger than one that measures 4.0.

2. 

   Hypersphere Man on January 9, 2010 at 4:36 am

   Basically, it’s used to compare relative strength of earthquakes.

   It is also used when assessing damage in conjunction with the dollar amount. You’ll hear things like "…a magnitude 9 earthquake centered near modern day San Francisco would cause x billion dollars worth of damage…"

   Hope that helps.