Charles Francis Richter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charles Francis Richter
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Charles Richter, c. 1970
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| Born | April 26, 1900 Overpeck, Ohio, U.S.
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| Died | September 30, 1985 (aged 85) Pasadena, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Stanford University California Institute of Technology |
| Known for | Richter magnitude scale Gutenberg–Richter law Surface-wave magnitude |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Seismology, physics |
| Institutions | California Institute of Technology |
Charles Francis Richter (born April 26, 1900 – died September 30, 1985) was an American scientist. He studied seismology (earthquakes) and physics.
He is most famous for creating the Richter magnitude scale. This scale helped measure how big earthquakes were. He developed it with his colleague, Beno Gutenberg, in 1935. They both worked at the California Institute of Technology. The Richter scale was used until 1979, when a new scale was created.
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Early Life and Education
Charles Richter was born in Overpeck, Ohio. His family had German roots. His parents divorced when he was young. He grew up with his grandfather, who moved the family to Los Angeles in 1909.
After finishing Los Angeles High School, he went to Stanford University. He earned his first degree in 1920. In 1928, he started working on his PhD in physics at the California Institute of Technology. Before he finished, he got a job at the Carnegie Institute of Washington. There, he became very interested in seismology. This is the study of earthquakes and the waves they make inside the Earth.
He then worked at the Seismological Laboratory in Pasadena. This lab was led by Beno Gutenberg. In 1932, Richter and Gutenberg started creating a way to measure the size of earthquakes. This became known as the Richter scale. In 1937, Richter returned to the California Institute of Technology. He stayed there for the rest of his career. He became a professor of seismology in 1952.
Richter's Career and Discoveries
Richter began working at the Carnegie Institution for Science in 1927. He started working with Beno Gutenberg there. The Caltech Seismological Laboratory wanted to publish regular reports about earthquakes in southern California. They needed a way to measure how strong these earthquakes were.
Richter and Gutenberg created the scale that would become the Richter scale. It measured how much the ground moved during an earthquake. They used an instrument called a seismometer to do this. This instrument records the ground's movement.
They also developed a special kind of scale called a logarithmic scale. This means that each step on the scale is ten times bigger than the last. Richter chose the name "magnitude" because he loved astronomy as a child. Astronomers use "magnitude" to describe how bright stars are. Gutenberg helped a lot with the scale. However, his name was not included on the scale because he did not like giving interviews. After the scale was published in 1935, scientists quickly started using it.
Richter stayed at the Carnegie Institution until 1936. Then he moved to the California Institute of Technology, where Gutenberg worked. In 1941, Gutenberg and Richter published a book called Seismicity of the Earth. A new version came out in 1954. It is still an important book for earthquake scientists.
Richter became a full professor at Caltech in 1952. In 1958, he published Elementary Seismology. This book was based on his lessons for college students. Many people consider it his most important work. Richter spent time in Japan in 1959 and 1960 as a Fulbright scholar. During this time, he also worked on earthquake engineering. This involves creating rules for buildings in areas where earthquakes happen often.
In the 1960s, Richter helped make people aware of earthquake dangers. Because of his warnings, the city of Los Angeles removed many decorations from its buildings. This helped prevent deaths during the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Richter had retired in 1970.
Understanding the Richter Magnitude Scale
Before Richter and Gutenberg, the main way to rate earthquakes was the Mercalli intensity scale. This scale was created in 1902 by an Italian priest named Giuseppe Mercalli. The Mercalli scale used Roman numerals (like I to XII). It described earthquakes based on how buildings and people reacted. For example, a small shake might be a I or II. A very strong earthquake that destroyed buildings would be a X.
The problem with the Mercalli scale was that it was not exact. It depended on how well a building was built or how used to earthquakes people were. It was also hard to rate earthquakes in places where no one lived.
The scale Richter and Gutenberg created was different. It was an exact way to measure an earthquake's strength. Richter used a seismometer. This machine has a roll of paper that constantly unwinds. A pen connected to a pendulum or magnet draws on the paper. This records the actual movement of the ground during an earthquake. The scale also considers how far the seismometer is from the epicenter. The epicenter is the point on the ground directly above where the earthquake starts.
Richter chose the word "magnitude" because of his interest in astronomy. Astronomers use "magnitude" to describe how bright stars are. Gutenberg suggested that the scale be logarithmic. This means that an earthquake of magnitude 7 is ten times stronger than a 6. It is a hundred times stronger than a 5. For example, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco was a magnitude 6.9.
The Richter scale was published in 1935. It quickly became the main way to measure earthquake strength. Richter later wanted Gutenberg to get more credit for his work. Gutenberg had helped expand the scale to work for earthquakes all over the world. Since 1935, other ways to measure earthquake strength have been developed.
Later Life
Charles Richter died on September 30, 1985, in Pasadena, California. He is buried in Altadena, California's Mountain View Cemetery.
See also
Images for kids
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In Spanish: Charles Francis Richter para niños
