Table of Contents
What is a seismograph and what does it do?
Seismographs are instruments used to record the motion of the ground during an earthquake. As the seismograph shakes under the mass, the recording device on the mass records the relative motion between itself and the rest of the instrument, thus recording the ground motion.
What is a seismograph simple definition?
A seismograph, or seismometer, is an instrument used to detect and record earthquakes. Generally, it consists of a mass attached to a fixed base. During an earthquake, the base moves and the mass does not. The motion of the base with respect to the mass is commonly transformed into an electrical voltage.
What makes a seismograph?
A seismograph consists of a pendulum mounted on a support base. When the ground vibrates, the pendulum remains still while the recorder moves, thus creating a record of the earth’s movement. A typical seismograph contains 3 pendulums: one to record vertical movement and two to record horizontal movement.
What is the Richter scale simple definition?
Richter scale (ML), quantitative measure of an earthquake’s magnitude (size), devised in 1935 by American seismologists Charles F. Richter and Beno Gutenberg. The earthquake’s magnitude is determined using the logarithm of the amplitude (height) of the largest seismic wave calibrated to a scale by a seismograph.
What are the parts of a seismograph?
A modern seismograph includes five basic parts: a clock, a sensor called a seismometer that measures intensity of shaking at the instrument’s location, a recorder that traces a chart, or seismogram , of the seismic arrivals, an electronic amplifier, and a data recorder that stores the information for later analysis.
How does seismograph record seismic waves?
Seismograph, instrument that makes a record of seismic waves caused by an earthquake, explosion, or other Earth-shaking phenomenon. Seismographs are equipped with electromagnetic sensors that translate ground motions into electrical changes, which are processed and recorded by the instruments’ analog or digital circuits.
What is the definition of a seismograph?
Definition of seismograph : an apparatus to measure and record vibrations within the earth and of the ground : a device that measures and records the movement of the earth during an earthquake : a device that measures and records vibrations of the earth
How are seismographs used?
Seismographs are instruments used to record the motion of the ground during an earthquake. They are installed in the ground throughout the world and operated as part of a seismographic network.