[meteorite-list] Japanese impact animation video

[Lee]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sterling K. Webb" <sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net>
To: "Francis Graham" <francisgraham at rocketmail.com>; 
<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Saturday, July 08, 2006 4:19 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Japanese impact animation video

> At the observer's location (20,000 km away), the major seismic shaking 
> will arrive at approximately 4000 seconds:
> Richter Scale Magnitude: 12.8
> Mercalli Scale Intensity at a distance of 20000 km: VI. Felt by all, many 
> frightened, to VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and 
> construction; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed 
> structures
> Little rocky ejecta reaches this site; fallout is dominated by condensed 
> rock vapor from the projectile.

The Mercalli Scale estimator has a glitch with this large of Richter 
numbers.  A 12.8 magnitude quake would give a REAL Mercalli Scale rating of 
XII, which is defined as:

"Total damage.  Waves seen on ground. Objects thrown up into air"

No man-made structure or natural feature would be recognizable after a 12.8 
magnitude quake.  Mountains would be ripped apart, river courses completely 
disrupted, cities turned into gravel.  Picture a cityscape of playing card 
structures AFTER the rug is pulled out from under it, and you get close to 
the destruction left behind.  The earthquake in "One Million Years B.C." 
with Raquel Welch comes to mind as a mild interpretation of a 10 magnitude 
quake.

Lee Cornelius