In response to oscillations of the ground caused by an earthquake, the pendulum swung in a nearly horizontal plane around the wire, its own free oscillation being reduced, or damped, by the magnetic field. 1. Schematic diagram of a 1924 Anderson-Wood torsion pendulum seismograph, the type used by seismologist Charles F. Richter to define his earthquake magnitude scale. All rights reserved.a scale, ranging from 1 to 10, for indicating the intensity of an earthquake.a scale for expressing the magnitude of an earthquake in terms of the logarithm of the amplitude of the ground wave; values range from 0 to over 9A logarithmic scale used to rate the strength or total energy of earthquakes.
Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. [ rĭk ′tər ] A logarithmic scale used to rate the strength or total energy of earthquakes. Comments on the Richter scale What made you want to look up the Richter scale? Because it is logarithmic, an earthquake rated … Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). Richter scale - a logarithmic scale of 1 to 10 formerly used to express the magnitude of an earthquake on the basis of the size of seismograph oscillations. Because it is logarithmic, an earthquake rated as 5 is ten times as powerful as one rated as 4. Richter scale definition is - an open-ended logarithmic scale for expressing the magnitude of a seismic disturbance (such as an earthquake) in terms of the energy dissipated in it with 1.5 indicating the smallest earthquake that can be felt, 4.5 an earthquake causing slight …
History at your fingertips
All rights reserved.The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Search Britannica Since modern seismographs can detect For earthquakes measuring magnitude 6.5 or greater, Richter’s original Richter scale.
By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The earthquake’s magnitude is determined using the logarithm of the amplitude (height) of the largest seismic wave calibrated to a scale by a seismograph.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
The Richter scale is named after the American seismologist Charles Francis Richter (1900-1985). The scale has no upper limit but usually ranges from 1 to 9.
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.The Richter scale was originally devised to measure the magnitude of earthquakes of moderate size (that is, magnitude 3 to magnitude 7) by assigning a number that would allow the size of one earthquake to be compared with another.