The Geologist C $\log _ { 10 } \left( \frac { I } { S } \right)$

question 97

Short Answer

The geologist C. F. Richter defined the magnitude of an earthquake to be $\log _ { 10 } \left( \frac { I } { S } \right)$ where $I$ is the intensity of the quake (measured by the amplitude of a seismograph $100 \mathrm {~km}$ from the epicenter) and $S$ is the intensity of a "standard" earthquake (where the amplitude is only $1 \mathrm { micron } = 10 ^ { - 4 }$ $\mathrm { cm }$ . The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that shook San Francisco had a magnitude of $7.9$ on the Richter scale. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was 12 times as intense. What was its magnitude on the Richter scale?