Kid Earthquake Magnitude Scale

The richter magnitude scale is a scale of numbers used to tell the size of earthquakes.

Kid earthquake magnitude scale. 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. You usually won t even notice an earthquake unless it measures at least a 3 on the mms scale. According to the delhi based national center for seismology ncs the earthquake took.

Earthquake magnitude is a measure of the size or amplitude of the seismic waves generated by an earthquake source and recorded by seismographs. Like the similar and older richter scale it is logarithmic with a base of ten. The magnitude is a number that characterizes the relative size of an earthquake.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4 1 on the richter scale hit eastern xizang india border region on sunday. The higher the number the bigger the earthquake. Moment magnitude scale the moment magnitude scale mms was devised by scientists after the 1960 chilean earthquake and the 1964 alaskan earthquake.

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. This was later revised and renamed the local magnitude scale denoted as ml or m l. The magnitude is a base 10 logarithmic scale.

To tell the strength of an earthquake scientists use a scale called the moment magnitude scale or mms it used to be called the richter scale. The moment magnitude scale is a way to measure the power of earthquakes. In other words when there is a whole number jump it indicates a ten fold increase in the magnitude of the earthquake.

Magnitudes are usually determined from measurements of an earthquake s seismic waves as recorded on a seismogram. These great subduction zone earthquakes broke along fault lines that were hundred of kilometers long. The larger the number on the mms scale the larger the earthquake.

Charles richter developed the richter scale in 1935 his scale was based on the seismogram measured by a particular type of seismometer at a distance of 100 kilometres 62 mi from the earthquake. Earthquakes 4 5 or higher on the richter scale can be measured by tools all over the world. It is the energy of the earthquake at the moment it happens.

Because of various shortcomings of the m l scale most. Moment magnitude scale measuring great earthquakes. Magnitude is based on measurement of the maximum motion recorded by a seismograph several scales have been defined but the most commonly used are 1 local magnitude ml commonly referred to as richter magnitude 2 surface wave magnitude ms 3 body wave magnitude mb and 4 moment.