Richter scale

noun

a scale, ranging from 1 to 10, for indicating the intensity of an earthquake.

Origin of Richter scale

1935–40; after Charles F. Richter (1900–85), U.S. seismologist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for richter scale

Contemporary Examples of richter scale

This is how seismic safety is done, by the force of gravity, not from Richter-scale measurements.
Latest Accident at San Onofre Nuclear Plant Worries Activists, Residents
Jamie Reno
February 13, 2012
The Taliban advance should be causing high Richter-scale reactions inside the Obama White House.
The Taliban's Nuclear Threat
Gerald Posner
April 22, 2009

British Dictionary definitions for richter scale

Richter scale

noun

a scale for expressing the magnitude of an earthquake in terms of the logarithm of the amplitude of the ground wave; values range from 0 to over 9Compare Mercalli scale See also magnitude (def. 5)

Word Origin for Richter scale

C20: named after Charles Richter (1900–85) US seismologist

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for richter scale

Richter scale

1938, devised by U.S. seismologist Charles Francis Richter (1900-1985).

richter scale in Science

Richter scale

[rĭk′tər]

A logarithmic scale used to rate the strength or total energy of earthquakes. The scale has no upper limit but usually ranges from 1 to 9. Because it is logarithmic, an earthquake rated as 5 is ten times as powerful as one rated as 4. An earthquake with a magnitude of 1 is detectable only by seismographs; one with a magnitude of 7 is a major earthquake. The Richter scale is named after the American seismologist Charles Francis Richter (1900-1985). See Note at earthquake.

richter scale in Culture

Richter scale

[(rik-tuhr)]

A scale used to rate the intensity of earthquakes. The scale is open-ended, with each succeeding level representing ten times as much energy as the last. A serious earthquake might rate six to eight, and very destructive quakes rate higher.

Note

No quake greater than nine has ever been recorded.