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Because the magnitude is no longer defined using the original Richter scale. Earthquake magnitudes are now defined using a similar scale called the moment magni

Because the magnitude is no longer defined using the original Richter scale. Earthquake magnitudes are now defined using a similar scale called the moment magnitude scale. Also watts are an SI unit of power, whereas Richters are not a unit of earthquake. It's just the name for the scale itself. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seismic_magnitude_scales https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seismic_magnitude_scales

pmdulaney 5y ago
Wow. I wonder if any local news station has ever said, "That earthquake with an epicenter in Whittier was a 4.5 on the moment magnitude scale." Thank you.
- olyjohn 5y ago
  Don't they usually say "It was a magnitude 4.5 quake?"
- jobigoud 5y ago
  > Whittier That's the town where everyone lives in the same building right?
  - pmdulaney 5y ago
    No, you're thinking of the little town in Alaska. Whittier is a suburb of Los Angeles -- where Nixon was born, I believe.