Richter magnitude scale magnitude (M) and body wave magnitude (M) scales. The Richter scale was defined in 1935 for particular circumstances and instruments; the particular circumstances refer to it being defined for Southern California and "implicitly incorporates the attenuative properties of Southern California crust and mantle." The particular instrument used would become saturated by strong earthquakes and unable to record high values. The scale was replaced in the 1970s by the moment magnitude scale (MMS, symbol ); for earthquakes adequately measured by the Richter scale, numerical values are approximately the same. Although values measured for earthquakes now are formula_1 (MMS), they are frequently
Orders of magnitude (power) Orders of magnitude (power) This page lists examples of the power in watts produced by various sources of energy. They are grouped by orders of magnitude. The productive capacity of electrical generators operated by utility companies is often measured in MW. Few things can sustain the transfer or consumption of energy on this scale; some of these events or entities include: lightning strikes, naval craft (such as aircraft carriers and submarines), engineering hardware, and some scientific research equipment (such as supercolliders and large lasers). For reference, about 10,000 100-watt lightbulbs or 5,000 computer systems would be needed to draw 1