Earthquakes Explained

What's the difference between an oscillatory and a trepidatory earthquake?

1. This calculation is just for engineers:



2. And this one is for the ignorant, like you and me:

This is a trepidatory earthquake:



3. This is an oscillatory earthquake:



4. And this is a combination of both, (trepidatory and oscillatory) :

haha v good fonz, should have been a scientist

School would have been so much more fun with teaching like this!

Awesome, at first I was like ok were going to learn about earthquakes, and then I was like wow, now this is learning about earth quakes.

Will lava flow be next?

That is the best science/engineering lesson I have ever had! Thanks a bunch!

Fonzz wrote:
Thanks - interesting stuff here

On a serious note, Before the completion of the construction of the 3-gorges dam in China, Scientist were speculating about the possible effects of holding so much water behind a dam. They were saying that it is possible for the tectonic plates to move. Tectonic plates are the masses of land comprising the outer crust of the planet. The 3 gorges dam was completed in 2008 and it's supposed to be fully operational this year. It's just an eerie coincidence that we are having earthquakes all over the world lately.

Philip28 wrote:

I did read a few days ago that it is a large enough dam/resevoir project that it has (very slightly) altered the earth's axis of rotation.

I was wondering how earthquakes are relative to this forum, but I guess I got the explanation when I read this thread