Have you ever felt an earthquake?
A earthquake is when two plates meet and colide. But how do you know when an earthquake is coming?
Or even how strong an earthquake is? Scientist use data from a network of seismographs connected to each other to gather safisticated detailed, measurements of earthquakes around the world. However these networks help very little with earthquake predictions, since they only measure quakes that happen scientist can use other methods to get an idea where earthquakes are likley to happen.
Modern day scientists are using such safisticated devices as lazers and satelites systems to predict how faults are moving.
Though this is not earthquake prediction, the data is giving scientists better ideas of where earthquakes are going to occur in the future, and can help people prepare for the eventual earthquake. Predicting earhquakes is not yet possible for scientists to do, but they hope that they will one day find a way. Although scientists can not predict them now, sometimes scientits know what regions an earthquake might hit. What they do is use the information from previous earthquakes to figure out a region it might hit.Siesmologists look out closely on certain selected places where giant earthquakes are expected.
Modern day scientists use a instrument called a seismograph to record earthquakes. This instrument records earthquakes using waves. The larger the waves the larger the earthquake.
At the top of this page is a picture of a advanced seismograph. A seismograph records the motion of the ground. A drum covered with paper turns under a pen. The pen moves from one end of the cylinder to the other creating a spiral line around the cylinder. A sensor converts the motion of the ground into an electrical signal which is made bigger and converted once again into motion of the pen. Seismic shaking is shown in the top center of these recordings (the pen makes a regular mark every minute). Seismographs are being replaced with digital...