Measuring Earthquakes
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Measuring Earthquakes
Earthquakes are measured by several different scales. Two of the most popular are the Richter scale and the Mercalli Scale. The Richter Scale measures the amplitude of the wave printed out on a seismograph - the larger the wave, the greater the magnitude of the earthquake. It's a logarithmic scale, by the way - that is, a 5.0 on the Richter Scale is 10 times as great a magnitude as a 4.0, and a 6.0 is 100 times the magnitude of a 4.0.
The Mercalli Scale, on the other hand, measures damage, and will vary from place to place - although usually the closer you are to the epicenter, the greater the damage (other things being equal).
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