What is the richter scale?

Richter scale. The Richter magnitude scale was developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter of the California Institute of Technology as a mathematical device to compare the size of earthquakes. The magnitude of an earthquake is determined from the logarithm of the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs. read more

The so-called Richter magnitude scale – more accurately, Richter's magnitude scale, or just Richter magnitude – for measuring the strength ("size") of earthquakes refers to the original "magnitude scale" developed by Charles F. Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 paper, and later revised and renamed the Local magnitude scale, denoted as "ML" or "M L". read more

The Richter scale was originally devised to measure the magnitude of earthquakes of moderate size (that is, magnitude 3 to magnitude 7) by assigning a number that would allow the size of one earthquake to be compared with another. read more

The Richter scale, officially called the "Richter Magnitude Scale," is a numerical value used to measure the power of earthquakes. It is a logarithmic scale based on the amplitude of waves recorded by a seismograph. read more