How To Measure an Earthquake

Predicting an earthquake is not an exact science but measuring one is... Scientists measure seismic activity on the Richter scale to work out the magnitude of an earthquake. The best device to measure the severity of an earthquake is a seismograph. This is a little challenging, but building your own seismograph will enable you to study tremors from beneath the ground.

Step 1: Drill the Stand

Drill a hole in the middle of the stand and ensure that it is the same diameter as a wooden dowel. This hole will be used to attach the arm of your seismograph to the stand using the wooden dowel. 

Step 2: Attach the Base and Stand

Take your base and attach the stand to it. The best way to securely attach the stand is to hammer a nail into it from the underside of the base. 

Step 3: Drilling the Arm

You will now need to drill two holes into the arm. The first hole should be at the end where the arm will be attached to the stand, and should be the same diameter as the wooden dowel. The second hole will be at the other end of the arm and will go all the way through the arm. Make sure that the hole is the same diameter as the pen, as this is where the pen will be placed. 

Step 4: Weight for the Arm

Using duct tape, securely attach the heavy weight to the arm at the end in which it will be attached to the stand. The weight will prevent the arm from moving too much in the event of small vibrations, such as people walking past. 

Step 5: Set up the Wire

Loosely attach two lengths of wire to the top of your stand. The wire should be able to reach two corners of the seismograph base, as they will add strength to the structure. 

Step 6: Attach Wire and Arm

Carefully attach the arm to the stand with the wooden dowel. When the arm is attached, move one hand away and take hold of one of the guide wires. Now pull the guide wire towards a corner of the base unit and make sure that there is no slack in the wire. Attach that wire to the corner of the base unit and repeat on the other side. 

Step 7: Pens and Paper

Now that the arm is fixed into place, push the pen through its hole and work out where you want your roll of paper to be positioned. Take the two wooden blocks and drill two holes through them. Attach the paper roll to the wooden blocks, and ensure that they are below the pen hole. Fasten the roll structure to the base. 

Step 8: Finish and Test

Push the pen through its hole so that it touches the paper roll. To test your completed earthquake predictor, shake it.