The scale is logarithmic, with each step equivalent to multiplying by 10 to the power of 1.5. This means a 6.0 magnitude earthquake has approximately 32 times more energy than a 5.0 quake, and a 7 ...

Sunday's earthquake in Sumatra had a preliminary magnitude of 9.0, classifying it as a great quake and making it the strongest in 40 years.

The scale is logarithmic, with each step equivalent to multiplying by 10 to the power of 1.5. This means a 6.0 magnitude earthquake has approximately 32 times more energy than a 5.0 quake, and a 7 ...

Q: The recent Japanese earthquake was a magnitude 9.0. How is this measured and what does the number really mean?A:Although there are many different scales such as Mercalli intensity scale and ...

The powerful earthquake that struck Japan in March was a 9.0-magnitude event. But this was not, as some people may assume, as registered on the Richter scale, the famed measuring system dating to ...

How we measure them. Charles F. Richter developed the Richter scale in 1935 as a mathematical device to compare the size of earthquakes. The magnitude of an earthquake is recorded by a seismograph.

The estimated 5.4 magnitude earthquake ... Earthquakes between 5.0 and 5.9 are considered moderate on the Richter scale, with up to 1,500 of those recorded annually around the world.

Ohio was hit with an earthquake on April 22 that registered as a 3.1 magnitude on the Richter Scale. Like the Heimlich maneuver or the Cleveland Browns, the invention is probably more famous than ...

Despite being felt, it was considered a relatively weak earthquake. The Richter scale, which is the tool used to measure the strength of earthquakes, goes up to 10, and the U.S. Geological Survey ...