I repeatedly have to correct this belief. In a sense, magnitude involves steps of 10 because every increase of one magnitude represents a tenfold amplification of the ground motion. But there is no 'scale of 10' in the sense of an upper limit. Charles Francis Richter amplificationbeliefcorrect share on social
Don't wait for extraordinary circumstance to do good; try to use ordinary situations. Charles Francis Richter circumstanceextraordinarygood Change image and share on social
If one introduces the concept of energy of an earthquake then that is a theoretically derived quantity. Charles Francis Richter conceptderiveearthquake Change image and share on social
Logarithmic plots are a device of the devil. Charles Francis Richter devicedevillogarithmic Change image and share on social
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. Charles Francis Richter accelerationearthquakeexperience Change image and share on social
We would have been happy if we could have assigned just three categories, large, medium, and small; the point is, we wanted to avoid personal judgments. It actually turned out to be quite a finely tuned scale. Charles Francis Richter assignavoidcategory share on social
If the assumptions used in calculating energy are changed, then this seriously affects the final result, even though the same body of data might be used. Charles Francis Richter affectassumptionbody Change image and share on social
Refining is inevitable in science when you have made measurements of a phenomenon for a long period of time. Charles Francis Richter inevitablelongmake Change image and share on social
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. Charles Francis Richter applydesignationearthquake share on social
There is another common misapprehension that the magnitude scale is itself some kind of instrument or apparatus. Visitors will frequently ask to 'see the scale.' Charles Francis Richter apparatuscommonfrequently Change image and share on social
