How many times stronger is a 6.0 earthquake than a 5.0 earthquake?

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How many times stronger is a 6.0 earthquake than a 5.0 earthquake?

Question #12595. Asked by Dreamer61dpl.
Last updated Aug 18 2021.

nautilator

Answer has 3 votes

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nautilator

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Answer has 3 votes.

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An increase of 1.0 on the Richter scale results in a tenfold increase in the amplitude of the shaking. The energy released becomes about 31 times as much.

https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/earthquake-hazards/science/earthquake-magnitude-energy-release-and-shaking-intensity

Response last updated by gtho4 on Aug 18 2021.
Oct 30 2016, 5:00 PM

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Answer 1

The Ricter scale is not linear, it is a factor scale. A 6.0 earthquake is 32 times as powerful as a 5.0. Scientists speculate that we will never see an earthquake greater than 9.0, because they calculate that at that level the mantle of the earth's crust will shatter, and there won't be much land left afterwards.