« Hey PGLAI77 - thanks for the tip | Main | A simple Mango Lassi entry »
March 29, 2005
What's an earthquake
Thanks Ivy, for some really great outlines in my comments explaining the workings of earthquakes.
She wrote in my entry about the safety of high-rise buildings:
Malaysian high rises are not safe at all. My apartment had cracks on the wall. It's not really the goverment's fault tho. It's just that Malaysia isn't in the earthquake-prone areas.Okay, I gave my lecture on earthquakes (woo! fun!) and the aftershocks and the hop-scotching of earth quakes from fault to fault. Basically, what happens is that one earthquake can trigger another earthquake half way across the world. The boundaries between plates are consistently building up stress. The stress is released when the friction between the two plates can no longer hold the amount of pressure from the stress build-up and then boom. U got an earthquake.
As everyone knows, an energy cannot be created nor destroyed. So what happens when an earthquake releases such tremendous amount of energy? They become seismic waves which would travel across the crusts until it hits another boundary. This energy would then increase the stress of that boundary to the point where friction can't hold it any longer boom there's your second earthquake. It's very common in North America.
Anyways, the problem is when and where would it occure. Geologists have still yet to figure out when it occurs because they do not have the technology for it. They can only tell with ultra sensitive seismometers 20 seconds before it strikes. Utterly pointless. Where it strikes, well there is a possibility in finding that out. That would depend on the direction the energy went to. That by itself would be a big task."
For a deeper inside, check out her PowerPoint presentation - click here
Thanks again - this is a WoW comment!
Posted by Andreas at March 29, 2005 08:30 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.alwayswow.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/161