Earthquake

17 Responses

1. I’ve got a few examples of earthquakes in video games.

   There was a game for the PS2 called Disaster Report that takes place in a city during an earthquake. You had to get through the city as it was collapsing around you. I don’t remember much about it, except it was a Japanese game and poorly translated.

   Then there’s Ubisoft’s I Am Alive, which was revealed two years ago and hasn’t been seen or heard of since. Not much is known about it, except it takes place in the days following a massive earthquake.

   Oh yeah, and SimCity let you unleash earthquakes on your city.

2. Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii begins with your character being called to a village to deal with a monster triggering earthquakes around a small fishing village.

3. Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii begins with your character being called to a village to deal with a monster triggering earthquakes around a small fishing village.

4. http://www.virginmedia.com/images/earthquakes3-4×3.jpg

5. One more huge quake with a local connection and effects felt in Japan:

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1700_Cascadia_earthquake

6. We all know Hollywood takes liberties with science. Could Lois really fall in a giant crevasse caused by an earthquake?

   Here’s the US Geological Survey dispelling one of many earthquake myths…

   From http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?faqID=18

   Q: Can the ground open up during an earthquake?

   A: Shallow crevasses can form during earthquake-induced landslides, lateral spreads, or other types of ground failures. Faults, however, do not open up during an earthquake. Movement occurs along the plane of a fault, not perpendicular to it. If faults opened up, no earthquake would occur because there would be no friction to lock them together.

   http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?faqID=19

   Q: Will California eventually fall off into the ocean?

   A: No. The San Andreas Fault System, which crosses California from the Salton Sea in the south to Cape Mendocino in the north, is the boundary between the Pacific Plate and North American Plate. The Pacific Plate is moving northwest with respect to the North American Plate at approximately 46 millimeters per year (the rate your fingernails grow). The strike-slip earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault are a result of this plate motion. The plates are moving horizontally past one another, so California is not going to fall into the ocean. However, Los Angeles and San Francisco will one day be adjacent to one another!

7. We all know Hollywood takes liberties with science. Could Lois really fall in a giant crevasse caused by an earthquake?

   Here’s the US Geological Survey dispelling one of many earthquake myths…

   From http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?faqID=18

   Q: Can the ground open up during an earthquake?

   A: Shallow crevasses can form during earthquake-induced landslides, lateral spreads, or other types of ground failures. Faults, however, do not open up during an earthquake. Movement occurs along the plane of a fault, not perpendicular to it. If faults opened up, no earthquake would occur because there would be no friction to lock them together.

   http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?faqID=19

   Q: Will California eventually fall off into the ocean?

   A: No. The San Andreas Fault System, which crosses California from the Salton Sea in the south to Cape Mendocino in the north, is the boundary between the Pacific Plate and North American Plate. The Pacific Plate is moving northwest with respect to the North American Plate at approximately 46 millimeters per year (the rate your fingernails grow). The strike-slip earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault are a result of this plate motion. The plates are moving horizontally past one another, so California is not going to fall into the ocean. However, Los Angeles and San Francisco will one day be adjacent to one another!

8. PS. Geo-Forces powers…
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geo-Force#Powers_and_abilities

   As implied by his codename, all of Brion’s powers are in some way related to the planet Earth. He can manipulate the Earth’s gravitational field to make an object heavier (“plus-gravity”) or lighter (“null-gravity”). He can also project scorching “lava blasts” in imitation of terrestrial volcanoes. By using his null-gravity power on himself coupled with lava blasts for propulsion, Geo-Force can fly at great speeds for short periods of time (his teammate Black Lightning once remarked that Geo-Force weakens after flying 1,000 miles). Geo-Force has also demonstrated the ability to manipulate the Earth itself, in a manner similar to Terra. Geo-force has also been shown to have the ability to turn organic material to stone. This ability is not quite explained in the one instance he has turned the reanimated corpse of Terra to stone.

   Geo-Force also possesses impressive superhuman strength and durability. When he was shot in the back by the clone of Baron Bedlam, the bullets staggered him, but they did not puncture his skin. With the addition to Terra’s powers to his own, his durability seems diminished. He can now be at least slashed by sharp items, but usually deep wounds trigger an increase in his powers leading to earth-manipulation powers.[citatio

9. Finally…

   Measurements on a Logarithmic Scale
   From Doctor Peterson @ The Math Forum

   We use a logarithmic scale when there is a wide range of values, and when the significance of a change in that value depends not on the absolute size of the change but on the size of the change in proportion to the value itself.

   If adding 1 to a value is just as big a change whether the original value was 1 or 1000, a linear scale makes sense.

   If doubling a value is just as big a change whether it is from 1 to 2 or from 1000 to 2000, a logarithmic scale is appropriate.

10. Pingback: Earthquake in Japan and “Lesser of Two Evils” Ringtone | Caustic Soda
11. Pingback: Earthquake in Japan and “Lesser of Two Evils” Ringtone | Caustic Soda

12. When the movie Earthquake was in theaters as a first run movie they set up special equipment (massive sub-woofers I assume) in each theater. These were tied in with the movie track and generated vibrations during each earthquake scene. They had some special name for this as if it were a new advance in movie technology. Personally I think smell-o-vision is a more worthwhile pursuit.

    1. These days they call it 4-D

    2. Sensurround!!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensurround

       I experienced many earthquakes before this movie came out. I was so disappointed when I saw it.

13. Just listening to this again I can’t believe I didn’t pick up that the Mercali (or whatever) Scale of earthquake damage, because it starts at 1 and goes to 12, effectively goes to 11! Especially given all that Spinal Tap discussion preceding it.

14. I love that your lesser of two evils question is perfect for me: I grew up in Iowa (tornadoes love us!) and lived in coastal California for ten years (lots of “that sounded like a truck” moments and a few building swaying/I feel completely nauseated/there is a new crack in the road/”where did the beach go?!” moments.)
    Having lived through both, my take is that, in general, you have warning time for tornadoes, but not earthquakes. If you hadn’t said “sucked up INTO a tornado”, I might have gone that way. However, since most people do NOT survive in tornadoes, I would have to take my chances in the 9.5 earthquake. Preferably not in a tall building, though.