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 More Quotes by Charles Francis Richter More Quotes From Charles Francis Richter It is a common remark that men talk most who think least; just as frogs cease their quacking when a light is brought to the water-side. Charles Francis Richter light men thinking According to Democritus, truth lies at the bottom of a well, the water of which serves as a mirror in which objects may be reflected. I have heard, however, that some philosophers, in seeking for truth, to pay homage to her, have seen their own image and adored it instead. Charles Francis Richter mirrors rain lying The laboratory routine, which involves a great deal of measurement, filing, and tabulation, is either my lifeline or my chief handicap, I hardly know which. Charles Francis Richter routine science knowledge Lately there have been complaints that the use of the magnitude scale is confusing, or at least the reporting of magnitudes in the newspapers 'confuses the public. Charles Francis Richter confusing confusion use 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 names earthquakes science 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 records vibrations earthquakes [In plotting earthquake measurements] the range between the largest and smallest magnitudes seemed unmanageably large. Dr. Beno Gutenberg then made the natural suggestion to plot the amplitudes logarithmically. Charles Francis Richter nature earthquakes science I suggested that we might compare earthquakes in terms of the measured amplitudes recorded at these stations, with an appropriate correction for distance. Charles Francis Richter terms compare distance earthquakes My amateur interest in astronomy brought out the term 'magnitude', which is used for the brightness of a star. Charles Francis Richter out star astronomy used 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 name great justice world I'm glad to see the press now referring to the open-ended Richter scale. Charles Francis Richter press now see glad By moving them vertically, a representative mean curve could be formed, and individual events were then characterized by individual logarithmic differences from the standard curve. Charles Francis Richter differences events mean moving Emphasis was usually put on the horizontal acceleration factor, for the simple reason that ordinary structures have a built-in safety factor for the vertical component; that is, gravity. Charles Francis Richter gravity safety simple reason For example, some stars put out large amounts of energy in the infrared part of the spectrum, so that this can produce a different relative magnitude rating than using light energy from the middle of the spectrum. Charles Francis Richter different stars light energy From here, it becomes an engineering problem; the engineer considers the ground motion that will occur and evaluates the requirements of the proposed structure in the light of the local foundation conditions. Charles Francis Richter will foundation light problem 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 limit sense ground belief I usually point out that most loss of life and property has been due to the collapse of antiquated and unsafe structures, mostly of brick and other masonry. Charles Francis Richter point property loss life Intensity like signal strength will generally fall off with distance from the source, although it also depends on the local conditions and the pathway from the source to the point. Charles Francis Richter will distance strength fall This is very similar to astronomy where different magnitudes are assigned to the brightness of an astronomical object, depending on the range of wavelengths being measured. Charles Francis Richter where being astronomy different 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. Charles Francis Richter except than truth earthquakes
