Questions tagged [earthquake]
40 questions
14
votes
2 answers
The LIGO Gravitational Wave Detection: have deep-mantle earthquakes been ruled out?
Everywhere I've looked so far that talks about the possibility the LIGO detection was an earthquake, involves being ruled out due to the large distance between the two LIGO sites. Two identical earthquakes would be necessary is what I'm reading.
I…
Lucy Meadow
- 799
7
votes
2 answers
Plate tectonics and water
In a couple of places already i've read the following assertion:
It is believed that plate tectonics might play an important part in
maintaining the presence of water on a planet's surface
one source is this article.
But the assertion is never…
lurscher
- 14,933
6
votes
2 answers
Possible non-negligible physical effects that relate planetary/lunar geometry and seismic activity such as earthquakes?
Could any forces from the moon, the planets or the sun in orbit hypothetically influence seismic events on earth? And if yes how to approximately calculate and compare the magnitude of the forces?
EDIT: On the How Stuff Works website they actually…
Hjan
- 171
6
votes
3 answers
How does one explain this pattern generated by earthquake waving driving a pendulum?
How to explain this pattern generated by earthquake wave driving a pendulum? Specially, there are three groups of curves that look categorically different:
1) The group of curves outside the olive-shaped envelope
2) The group of intertwined curves…
qazwsx
- 989
5
votes
1 answer
Upper limit on the earthquake magnitude
From the Gutenberg-Richter law we know that the frequency of an earthquake is a power law, so virtually any magnitude is possible on earthquake event. But the earth has a finite size so there must be an upper theoretical limit on the earthquake's…
Emanuele Luzio
- 846
4
votes
2 answers
Can the Dzhanibekov Effect celestial bodies, like Earth’s crust and/or core causing the flipping of magnetic poles?
“The tennis racket theorem or intermediate axis theorem, is a kinetic phenomenon of classical mechanics which describes the movement of a rigid body with three distinct principal moments of inertia. It has also dubbed the Dzhanibekov effect, after…
Digcoal
- 177
4
votes
1 answer
How to convert Richter magnitude scale to approximate TNT?
I know the Richter magnitude scale is often used for measuring the strength of earthquakes. At the same time, explosive/destructive releases of energy are often quoted in equivalent amounts of TNT. Is there some way to relate these two scales? Or…
hatava
- 41
4
votes
0 answers
Does mankind possess the technology to intentionally trigger a Yellowstone eruption?
The Yellowstone Caldera eruption will probably be an Extinction Level Event when it eventually happens.
Suppose some lunatic wanted to set it off now, with drills, bombs, or whatnot. Say this lunatic has the resources of a nuclear nation state at…
spraff
- 5,256
3
votes
3 answers
How much does quantum uncertainty contribute to the uncertainty of earthquakes?
More abstractly, the topic is: amplification of quantum uncertainty within dynamically unstable systems.
I'd like to have a calculable toy model, e.g. maybe a quantum version of the famous "abelian sandpile model". We would start in a pure state in…
Mitchell Porter
- 13,692
3
votes
1 answer
What makes a book (or a stack of paper) so sturdy under pressure?
I've watched an experiment where they compress a book with a hydraulic press, and the book appears to stay relatively intact under that pressure. It is mentioned that the hydraulic press has a 100-ton pressing capacity.
You can watch it from minute…
ermanen
- 175
3
votes
2 answers
What made the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake?
The Ocean Drilling Program recently published results indicating that the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake produced a maximum co-seismic slip of more than 50 meters near the Japan Trench. This is the largest fault displacement that has been measured for…
Mark Rovetta
- 3,945
3
votes
0 answers
Jerk Magnitudes and Earthquakes
Destruction from earthquakes depends on many factors, including magnitude, occurrence depth and closeness to epicenter. One measure that may relate destructive force for buildings and infrastructure would be jerk magnitudes and durations.
Recall…
Michael Luciuk
- 5,812
3
votes
2 answers
Question about the difference between a tsunami caused by a meteorite and one caused by an under water earthquake
Picture the situation where a meteorite falls somewhere on one of our oceans and gives off all its kinetic energy to the water (let's ignore the thermal energies involved like, for example, the heat caused by the atmospheric entrance friction).
Now…
Deschele Schilder
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2
votes
2 answers
Frequency of earthquakes
Are earthquakes getting less frequent across the centuries? I know that more seismic stations have register more earthquakes in the last century, but that doesn't imply there were more. I am interested on the geophysical side of it.
The logic is…
Quora Feans
- 397
2
votes
1 answer
Potential collapse during an earthquake?
I was asked to determine the shear forces on 12" diameter table legs supporting a few hundred pounds of static weight.
How does one calculate or determine the potential force on the legs and/or potential collapse of the legs given an earthquake? …
TimJ.
- 29