Charles Francis Richter Quotes
The usual designation of the magnitude scale to my name does less than justice to the great part that Dr. Gutenberg played in extending the scale to apply to earthquakes in all parts of the world.
Nothing is less predictable than the development of an active scientific field.
Don't wait for extraordinary circumstance to do good; try to use ordinary situations.
As seismologists gained more experience from earthquake records, it became obvious that the problem could not be reduced to a single peak acceleration. In fact, a full frequency of vibrations occurs.
The rose does not bloom without thorns. True, but would that the thorns did not outlive the rose.
Refining is inevitable in science when you have made measurements of a phenomenon for a long period of time.
If one introduces the concept of energy of an earthquake then that is a theoretically derived quantity.
In every area of the world where there is earthquake risk, there are still many buildings of this type; it is very frustrating to try to get rid of them.
My main point today is that usually one gets what one expects, but very rarely in the way one expected it.
There is nothing more beautiful than cheerfulness in an old face, and among country people it is always a sign of a well-regulated life.
If the assumptions used in calculating energy are changed, then this seriously affects the final result, even though the same body of data might be used.
Lately there have been complaints that the use of the magnitude scale is confusing, or at least the reporting of magnitudes in the newspapers 'confuses the public.
It is a common remark that men talk most who think least; just as frogs cease their quacking when a light is brought to the water-side.
No joy in nature is so sublimely affecting as the joy of a mother at the good fortune of a child.
The laboratory routine, which involves a great deal of measurement, filing, and tabulation, is either my lifeline or my chief handicap, I hardly know which.
