What is the Richter scale?

The Richter scale is a measure of the energy released by an earthquake.  It is calculated in a specific way based on a specific type of measuring device.  The scale is logarithmic.  Each unit increase in the scale corresponds to a 10 times increase in the shaking amplitude and a 31.6 times increase in the energy released.  There is no correlation between the Richter scale and particle velocity.

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