American - Scientist | April 26, 1900 - September 30, 1985
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
SimpleSafetyGravityReason
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.
LightFoundationEngineeringProblem
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.
BeliefLimitGroundStepsMotion
I suggested that we might compare earthquakes in terms of the measured amplitudes recorded at these stations, with an appropriate correction for distance.
DistanceMeasuredCompareCorrection
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.
LifeLossBrickOutPointProperty
I was lucky because logarithmic plots are a device of the devil.
DevilLuckyBecauseDevicePlots
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.
EnergyDataResultAssumptionsBody
In every area of the world where there is earthquake risk, there are still many buildings of this type; it is very frustrating to try to get rid of them.
WorldBuildingsRiskTryWhereGet
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.
StrengthFallDistanceWillPoint
My amateur interest in astronomy brought out the term 'magnitude', which is used for the brightness of a star.
OutStarAstronomyUsedInterest
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.'
KindWillAskSeeCommonInstrument
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.
AstronomyWhereBeingDifferentVery
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