Title: Richter’s Scale – Measure
of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man
Author: Susan Elizabeth Hough
Publisher: Princeton
University Press, 2007 (First)
ISBN: 978-0-691-12807-8
Pages: 312
Charles Francis Richter possesses
the enviable distinction of being one of the best known scientists in any
branch of science. Whenever an earthquake occurs anywhere in the world, the
media faithfully reproduce the magnitude of the quake in the scale eponymous to
him. Even lay people won’t rest contentedly until they knew the magnitude of
the temblor. Though very few understands the intricacies of the scale, and even
fewer know that the scale is not a physical device, there is one fact which is
understood by all – the more you go up the scale, the consequent catastrophic
damage would also go up exponentially. The author who is herself is a
seismologist at the US Geological Survey, California has served as an editor and
contributor to many scientific publications and is the author of many books.
Since she worked in the same institution as Richter, the technical as well as
personal correctness of the narrative may never be doubted.
Though being the lone well known
seismologist in the world – a household name, to be precise – Richter rose from
humble surroundings. Born in 1900 as the second child of parents who divorced
twice among themselves, he had an unhappy childhood and the familial problems
forced him to receive psychiatric help at the age of 20. However, he recovered
from the problems and continued studies, finally obtaining a PhD in Physics
from Caltech, with specialisation in quantum mechanics. Right at the same time,
a seismological lab was being set up there in 1927, which needed a research
assistant with a physics background. Richter joined the institute as the rest,
as they say, is history. The U.S. witnessed a lot of earthquakes in the 19th
century, but it soon became apparent that California, the Golden State, was
sitting on a geologically active area. Devastating earthquakes in 1868 and 1906
opened the eyes of administrators who were reluctant to put a halt to the
pouring in of investment to the state. The 1906 quake magnified the fissure on
the surface called San Andreas Fault, where the North American plate rubs
against Pacific plate. But in Richter’s time, plate tectonics had not been
developed.
Attempts to measure the intensity
of quakes began a long time ago. The Rossi-Forel scale developed around 1880 was
one such scheme. It was Richter who proposed a scale for measuring the
magnitude of earthquakes through a 1935 paper. Though named after him by the
media, the development of the scale was the combined product of Richter and
several of his worthy colleagues, like Beno Gutenberg who was regarded as the
most accomplished seismologist of the time. The scale is logarithmic, which was
said to be as suggested by Gutenberg. However, Richter didn’t tell otherwise
when the media made the development his brainchild. The scale has no upper
limit, but we are yet to witness a world shattering magnitude 10 quake. The
greatest quakes the world had witnessed since 1900 was Chile 1960 (mag 9.5),
Alaska 1964 (9.2) and Indian ocean 2004 (9.1). Each quake produces energy which
is 30 times more than a quake with 1 less than it on the Richter scale. Also,
the number of quakes increase by a factor of 10 for lower magnitudes. So,
number of magnitude 4 quakes will be ten times more than magnitude 5 quakes.
New measurement parameters unavailable to Richter have helped seismologists to
revise the scale to moment-magnitude scale which reflects the quake’s power
more faithfully.
The book details more on Richter,
the man and his emotions and escapades than on the work for which the world
remember him even today. Hough’s lengthy chapters on the personal relationships
of the scientist makes for uneasy reading, especially so when she quotes from
his personal papers donated to the archives posthumously. Richter says, “My
picture of human relationships has never been restricted to those involving
only two people; I have seen too many exceptions”. Honest sentiments, but
hardly admirable! However, the author ends the chapter with a snippet of
timeless wisdom, “It is fair to say that complicated people as a rule have
complicated relationships and Richter was about as complicated as they come”.
One who took the book for the quake content will be disappointed at the
protracted personal narrative.
In the end, when one closes the
book for the last time, the feeling he gets is this: Richter obtained fame
disproportionate to what he deserved. He freely acquired inputs from several
peers, but was careless to acknowledge the debt. However, the author takes
great pains to drive home the point that Richter was a good educator, who
cosied up to the media when the occasion arose and spoke in a language no
ordinary scientist could manage. Were it not for the magnitude scale, his fame
among seismological circles would still have been secure, as the author of the
great 1958 textbook, ‘Elementary Seismology’ which find usage even
today, which in itself is a remarkable achievement in the scientific field
where great strides have been made in the intervening period. Also, Richter was
such an analyst that he understood answers for the questions that were not even
formulated by his contemporaries. After retiring from Caltech in 1970, he
continued work as a consultant for several years, until his death in 1985 from
natural causes.
The book’s greatest advantage is
that it was written by a seismologist who shared the same institution as
Richter. She shares Richter’s conviction that scientific facts should be
conveyed to the general public in parlance easily digestible to them. However,
the author has diluted it very much that the murky result do not do justice to
the expectations of readers, who are intrigued by the myteries mother earth
hold in her bosom. The book includes a good number of photographs, at least
some of them the author could have did without. Moreover, it clearly addresses
the myth that animals can sense impending quakes. Hough says, “The idea that
animals can sense impending earthquakes remains a persistent myth among the
public. After any large earthquake, some people are always convinced that their
dog, cat, or rose-crested cockatoo knew the temblor was coming. The problem is
that on any given day, a certain percentage of cats act bizarrely for no
apparent reason, because that’s what cats do. When an earthquake strikes,
anecdotal accounts of prescient animals invariably arise. Animals can also
sense an initial P-wave that escapes the attention of human observers, and
therefore sometimes react a few seconds before the stronger S-wave arrives”
(p.258). The work also includes many poems penned by the great scientist as he
was very fond of writing poems which are soul-baring in nature.
The work is marred by numerous
printing errors and carelessness in editing. Some of the errors are shocking,
as it comes from a prominent university press! Such oversights mars the
integrity of the book. Richter’s name itself is erroneously printed as
‘Ritcher’ in the captions of some photographs may be ignored, but the date of
Indian ocean tsunami printed on page 130 is Dec 26, 2005, is a grave error. The
year is in fact, 2004. Another drawback of the work has to be traced back to
the author herself. As mentioned earlier, she has delved too deep into Richter
the man instead of Richter the scientist, thus diminishing its stature as a
work of science.
It would be worthwhile to conclude this
review with a memorable poem written by Richter as he just turned seventy.
In Conclusion (1970)
No, I am not ungrateful.
Some living was quite good, and
some was not.
Why quarrel with the general human
lot?
Not too much has been hateful.
Fear there has been, dark fear
Amid the whirl-wind winds of fear
and hate;
Small wonder that I never grew up
straight.
Enough; I have survived, I’m here.
Some envy me, but those
Can never know how meager is my
part
Of what they take for granted in
the heart-
Far less than they suppose
Quietly I descend
These last long stairs, not
hesitating much,
Nor fearing that expected gentle
touch
That is to bring the end.
The book is recommended.
Rating: 3 Star
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