2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami for the event was based on a calculation that requires only about 3 minutes. This calculation is, in turn, based on the maximum amplitude of the seismic wave. The amplitude of the seismic wave is measured using the , which is similar to Richter magnitude scale. However, these scales "saturate" for earthquakes that are above a certain magnitude (magnitude 8 on the JMA scale); that is, in the case of very large earthquakes, the scales' values change little despite large differences in the earthquakes' energy. This resulted in an underestimation of the tsunami's height in initial reports. Problems in issuing
Apparent magnitude further qualification, it is usually the V magnitude that is meant, more or less the same as visual magnitude. Because cooler stars, such as red giants and red dwarfs, emit little energy in the blue and UV regions of the spectrum their power is often under-represented by the UBV scale. Indeed, some L and T class stars have an estimated magnitude of well over 100, because they emit extremely little visible light, but are strongest in infrared. Measures of magnitude need cautious treatment and it is extremely important to measure like with like. On early 20th century and older orthochromatic