Earthquake

It was Valentine’s Day. After lunch, my wife curled up on the living room sofa and I went downstairs on my nap sofa in front of the woodstove. It is so cozy there especially during the winter months. Our small, but feisty cat had finally settled down next to me. First she jumps on top of me and goes into her kneading routine extended claws before settling down.

My wife was suddenly awakened from some vibration. She presumed that something had fallen in the kitchen. I was awakened and thought it pertained to the cat. She had jumped off the cot. When I got up, my wife said that there must have been an earthquake that awakened her. I found that difficult to believe. There had never been one in this area and it is not an earthquake-prone region. My guess was some blasting from the quarry located some 10 Kilometers away. Last night on the news, they reported an earthquake in the Rheinland/Pfalz region registering 4, 3 on the Richter scale. It was a small one, but confirmed that an earthquake had occurred.

My wife was right and it wasn’t the cat that awakened me. I’m still puzzled about it and want to learn what caused the quake. No damage done.

I guess they can happen anywhere. I woke from a sleep in a Philadelphia motel in about 1974. The room was shaking. I looked out the sliding glass door. The swimming pool had waves. The news in the morning reported a small earthquake the night before.

They can be scary.

I experienced one once on the Greek island of Crete. The bed shook and the pictures on the wall were swinging. I was told that on Crete it was a common occurrence. No one was alarmed - except me of course.

Yes, they can be scary. I wouldn't want to live in the LA area. I suspect that someday that area will become an island in the Pacific.

I lived in the LA area. We had a little ranch house in Garden Grove in the 70's. It was decorated with 70's style - lamps hanging on either side of the bed on chains, etc. In the middle room closet were our file cabinets that we seldom shut tight since we closed the closet door. Our little poodle was forbidden to travel beyond the family room (tile) and often sat at the edge, one paw on the forbidden carpet that was found in the rest of the mysterious house.

I don't remember the time, but we were awakened by sounds like the house was splitting into pieces and our poodle in the middle of our bed, shaking and whining, her tail tucked under since she had totally disobeyed two years of absolutes. The hanging lamps were swinging wildly on their chains over the bed from either side, with much rattling.

Of course, it didn't stop then, several after shocks followed. Our only actual damage was nerves, a dog who would NEVER remain in the family room again regardless of discipline measures (I guess she blamed the quake on the family room), closet doors chewed up from the file cabinet drawers banging into them repeatedly, a crack up the side of the garage and a waterfall and coi pond in the backyard that never held water completely again.

It was not fun. It did a lot of damage in LA proper, specifically I believe to a hospital.

There were a few more, but they were not as powerful as that one or accompanied with as much noise. After we repaired the closet doors, we also closed the file cabinets when we used them.

I was in a skyscraper dining on the top floor in Tokyo with my spouse and business friends. I felt weird in my stomach and looking out the window, it seemed our building was swaying toward the one nearby and the water in our glasses was moving.

The men continued their talking without a pause; finally, I asked if something strange was happening. "Oh, just an earthquake" said one of the Japanese men. "Just an earthquake" with us totally at its mercy at the top of that building. It was, however, built to earthquake standards and swayed on purpose. Yikes!

Similarly I experienced one in an smaller building where I worked in Long Beach. That building was also built to sway; but it didn't feel any better knowing it was supposed to move.

I traded all that for hurricanes. At least we are warned...

Earthquakes are the scariest thing I have encountered.
I worry about aftershocks, etc.

Around Seattle they keep predicting The Big One--I can certainly stand to wait.

The earthquake in Japan has brought about a lot of suffering and damage. While our prayers go out to them - we should also give thought on what causes earthquake.

Conventional "wisdom" (which is also taught in our schools) is that earthquake is the result of rock fracturing that is said to send out shockwaves.


But earthquake also changes earth’s rate of rotation; and being that fracturing is induced by gravity (a radial acceleration) - it is impossible, therefore, for it to affect earth’s rotation. Something very major is wrong about conventional "wisdom" as it relates to the cause of earthquake.

The railroad track stands in testimony. Notice how the tracks have been stretched - but there is no damage to the surrounding ground? It appears instead that these tracks had become very hot and elongated
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James
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James,

How will us giving thought as to the cause of an earthquake help the victims?

Alice

Quote :

James, How will us giving thought as to the cause of an earthquake help the victims?

We cannot build to withstand earthquake unless we know what causes it, and know what we are up against. This will continue, and homes will be destroyed and lives lost - until someone changes the conventional view of earthquake being shockwaves.


In earlier posts I discussed NASA's Lunar Ranging Program that involves reflectors placed on the moon by the Apollo 11, 14, and 15 astronauts.

This is a multi-billion dollar venture - it is not done to measure the moon moving away at centimeters a year - they are watching the moon’s orbit.

When ever there is an earthquake the moon moves further from the earth. This is a matter of great concern because it could be catastrophic

How will you prevent an earthquake?

I'm wondering if some of the underground nuclear testing contributed to the recent earthquakes. Shockwaves of a nuclear blasts must have caused huge vibrations through the earth and if there were cracks, could have weakened them.

I'm just thinking out loud here, and wonder if that is a possibility.

Abe,

That sounds very plausable to me.



James,

If I recollect properly, you said earthquakes were caused by lightning storms. Japan is not notable for lightning storms.

I suppose it might be possible, Abe. It seems to me that the thing to remember is that Mother Nature is, in spite of all our so-called technological advances, more powerful than we are.

I cannot forget the power expressed by T. S. Eliot in his poetic observation of the dark brown river god:

"Ever... implacable,/ keeping his seasons and rages, destroyer, reminder/Of what men choose to forget. Unhonoured, unpropitiated/By worshipers of the machine, but waiting, watching and waiting."

Maybe part of the problem might be the fact that even Eliot was intent on seeing a god as masculine - his seasons and rages?

However an earthquake comes about, we don't give our mother goddess the reverence she deserves.

We also need to remember that her acts of nature are not intended to harm, but to heal. A hurricane, for instance, is simply her way of moving warm air into the cold arctic region. Earthquakes are as natural a phenomenon as a rainstorm. We choose to live in high fault areas, build houses on the beaches, and dams and levees to attempt to change her natural courses.

Ann

... areas that other animals avoid ... and then we claim to be of superior intelligence.

James wrote:

When ever there is an earthquake the moon moves further from the earth. This is a matter of great concern because it could be catastrophic

This I find extremely difficult to believe. The magnitude of even the greatest tremor on the earth's surface is of infinitesimal consequence to disturb the motion of an object on the scale of the Moon of mass 7.3477 × 10²² kg , orbiting a quarter of a million miles out.

A Ahad

Quote :

This I find extremely difficult to believe. The magnitude of even the greatest tremor on the earth's surface is of infinitesimal consequence to disturb the motion of an object on the scale of the Moon of mass 7.3477 × 10²² kg , orbiting a quarter of a million miles out

Do not forget A Ahad, that the moon is in a conservation of angular momentum agreement with the earth. If the earth’s rotation changes - the moon has no choice but to change its orbit.

It is like an ice skater changing the position of the arms. The body has no choice but to obey

Ahad,

Don't cover up the truth now!

I agree with you though!

Alice

Quote :

Ahad, ---- I agree with you though!

Then you are going to be wrong!

And as long as the prevailing thought continues - earthquake will cause devastation

Under any circumstances, I think we can guarantee that earthquakes will cause devastation.

Shelagh Under any circumstances, I think we can guarantee that earthquakes will cause devastation.


James) Not so! We can reduce it measurably. Our greatest concern is with constructions -- buildings, bridges, homes etc.

They are not built properly to withstand earthquake. This will change when the prevailing thought gets wiser

James

James wrote:

Do not forget A Ahad, that the moon is in a conservation of angular momentum agreement with the earth. If the earth’s rotation changes - the moon has no choice but to change its orbit.

Hi James,
I have no qualms that the Earth and the Moon are mutually synchronized somewhat in their gravitational interactions (e.g. the rise and fall of ocean tides, etc) and that angular momentum has to be conserved between both bodies.

I was merely dubious about the *scale* of things taken in proportion.

What you are suggesting is a bit like saying an elephant would wince from the bite of the relatively small ant that crawls on it's skin. An ant would not be large enough to inflict a bite of sufficient pain so as to cause a reaction from an elephant...

The Wiki page about moonquakes has more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonquake#Tidal_effects

James wrote:

Shelagh Under any circumstances, I think we can guarantee that earthquakes will cause devastation.


James) Not so! We can reduce it measurably. Our greatest concern is with constructions -- buildings, bridges, homes etc.

They are not built properly to withstand earthquake. This will change when the prevailing thought gets wiser

James

Yes, to reduce the effects of the devastating earthquakes, buildings have to be better constructed.

Which prevaling thought is causing us to build poorly constructed buildings and bridges?

The scientists, I guess.