What is the Richter scale used for?

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What is the Richter scale used for?

The Richter scale is used to measure the magnitude or strength of earthquakes. It was developed by Charles F. Richter in 1935 and is a logarithmic scale that assigns a numerical value to the amount of seismic energy released during an earthquake. The scale ranges from 0 to 10, with each whole number increase representing a tenfold increase in the amplitude of ground motion and approximately 31.6 times more energy release. The Richter scale is widely used by seismologists to compare and categorize the size of earthquakes, providing a standardized measurement for assessing their impact and potential damage.