Concept in Definition ABC

The seismograph it's a measuring element which is employed at the behest of a earthquake or earthquake to have a complete idea of ​​the proportion that reach the seismic waves that accompany them. It will provide us with very precise and exact information about the propagation and amplitude of waves. It is applied both in strong earthquakes as well as in small movements.

All earthquakes consist of waves that generate a brutal release of Energy which are the ones that ultimately generate the shaking of the tectonic plates.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Scottish physicist James Forbes surprises the world with his invention of the seismograph, an element that precisely made it possible to measure large earthquakes or small tremors caused by these waves.

Forbes' proposal was simpler than the current ones because it only consisted of a pendulum that remained immobile due to inertia during the earthquake. while at the end it had a punch that did move with the shake and then took care of recording all the movements on paper, generating a

record very concrete writing about the degree of violence of shaking.

This obviously made it possible to have a detailed knowledge of the earthquakes or earthquakes that occurred and classify them in terms of the greater or lesser virulence they presented.

Today, obviously with the technology on our side, the proposal is electronic and very faithful and is based on the original proposal of Forbes although it is an electronic circuit that keeps the mass still while the earth is shakes.

The great novelty that current seismographs bring is that they can decide what was the epicenter of the earthquake, both on land and in water, based on specialized sensors.

As a consequence, seismographs are important allies of the seismology , what is the discipline which deals exclusively with studying earthquakes. Knowing the origin and the way in which the waves propagate will also be essential when it comes to preventing the devastating effects that they usually have earthquakes and then in this sense seismology acts and uses all that element such as the seismograph that will help it in this crucial task.

Topics in Seismograph