I suggested that we might compare earthquakes in terms of the measured amplitudes recorded at these stations, with an appropriate correction for distance.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I couldn't help but be impressed by the magnitude of the earthquake.
What emerged, of course, was that the magnitude scale presupposed that all earthquakes were alike except for a constant scaling factor. And this proved to be closer to the truth than we expected.
As seismologists gained more experience from earthquake records, it became obvious that the problem could not be reduced to a single peak acceleration. In fact, a full frequency of vibrations occurs.
Incidentally, the usual designation of the magnitude scale to my name does less than justice to the great part that Dr. Gutenberg played in extending the scale to apply to earthquakes in all parts of the world.
My base will show up in earthquakes.
Well, I grew up in the Bay Area, so I've been in earthquakes before.
I'm glad to see the press now referring to the open-ended Richter scale.
We don't suggest that because San Francisco lies on top of an earthquake fault that it should be moved.
If one introduces the concept of energy of an earthquake then that is a theoretically derived quantity.
Shortly after the 2004 Indonesian earthquake, I read that the earthquake had affected the rotation of the earth, shortening the length of our 24-hour day. Even though the change was extremely slight - only a few microseconds - I found the idea incredibly haunting.
No opposing quotes found.