Today (April 26, 1900) is the Birthday of the American physicist Charles Francis Richter who discovered the Richter scale.
Charles Francis Richter was born on April 26, 1900, in Hamilton, Ohio, USA. His father's name was Fred W. Kinsinger. Mother Willian Anna Richter. Charles Richter survived cholera when he was 14 months old and struggled to survive. During his childhood, his parents divorced him due to a disagreement. So he lived in the warmth of his maternal grandfather. In 1909 his family moved to Los Angeles. His early education began at an elementary school affiliated with the University of Southern California. After finishing school he joined the University of Southern California at the age of 16.
Interested in astronomy, Richter enrolled at Stanford University with a degree in physics as a major. He received his bachelor's degree in physics in 1920. He holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the California Institute of Technology. In 1927 he accepted the invitation of the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Robert Millikan, who was president of the Carnegie Training Institute in Washington, D.C., where he joined as a research assistant. There he found the friendship of Pino Gutenberg. This led to an interest in the study of earthquakes and the oscillations that occur on Earth. Pino joined the newly set up seismic Laboratory in Pasadena, as shown by Gutenberg. In 1928 he married Lillian Brandt, a writer from Los Angeles.
The Seismology Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology produced a series of reports of earthquakes in southern California at the time. Needs arose to record and explore its strengths as well. On the advice of Kiyoo Wadati, it became necessary to continuously measure the displacement of the earth generating seismic waves. Pino Gutenberg and Charles Richter then worked together to develop a seismograph. He used a logarithmic scale to measure its intensity. Richter has been interested in astronomy since childhood and named it the 'Richter Scale' after him. The Richter scale is not a physical instrument, but a mathematical formula.
Although Gutenberg was instrumental in this study, his name was not included in the criteria due to his lack of interest in providing explanations for the study. It was published in 1935 and used in the process. Charles Richter worked at Carnegie until 1936, returning to the California Institute of Technology in 1937 to continue his research. In 1952 he became a professor of earthquakes. In 1941, he co-authored and published a book, Earthquake, with Gutenberg. The book was republished in 1954. In 1958 he wrote and published a book, Basic Seismology. The book contains the necessary notes for teachers of undergraduate subjects.
Went to Japan in 1959-1960 as a Fulbright Scholar and played a key role in developing a course in seismic engineering with architectural engineering instructions on how to construct buildings in earthquake-prone areas. Richter's warnings were heeded after a major earthquake in Los Angeles in 1971. Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and President of the American Seismological Institute. But he was not elected a member of the country's National Academy of Sciences.
After retiring from work in 1970 as a nature enthusiast he became interested in going with his wife to places where there were 'undressed people living in the world where naked people were living. His hobby was engaging in Carnatic music, reading science fiction and watching TV series. One of his favourite pastimes is hiking in the mountains of Southern California. Charles Francis Richter, who discovered the Richter scale, died of a heart attack on September 30, 1985, at the age of 85 in Pasadena, California.
Source By: Wikipedia
Information: Ramesh, Assistant Professor of Physics, Nehru Memorial College, Puthanampatti, Trichy.
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