Difference between revisions of "Magnitude"
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| − | + | '''Magnitude''' is a numerical expression of the amount of [[energy]] released by an [[earthquake]], determined by measuring earthquake waves on standardized recording instruments ([[seismographs]]). The number scale for magnitudes is logarithmic rather than arithmetic; therefore, deflections on a seismograph for a magnitude 5 earthquake, for example, are 10 times greater than those for a magnitude 4 earthquake, 100 times greater than for a magnitude 3 earthquake, and so on. (Foxworthy and Hill, 1982) <ref>[http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/volcano_terminology.html Glossary of Volcano and Related Terminology]</ref> | |
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 03:34, August 12, 2007
Magnitude is a numerical expression of the amount of energy released by an earthquake, determined by measuring earthquake waves on standardized recording instruments (seismographs). The number scale for magnitudes is logarithmic rather than arithmetic; therefore, deflections on a seismograph for a magnitude 5 earthquake, for example, are 10 times greater than those for a magnitude 4 earthquake, 100 times greater than for a magnitude 3 earthquake, and so on. (Foxworthy and Hill, 1982) [1]