Earthquake Energy Calculator
Enter an earthquake magnitude and see the energy released in joules and TNT equivalent.
Understand the power behind Richter scale numbers.
Energy Released
Earthquake energy increases exponentially with magnitude. Each whole number increase represents about 31.6 times more energy.
Gutenberg-Richter formula:
log₁₀(E) = 1.5 × M + 4.8
Where E is energy in joules and M is the magnitude.
Energy comparison by magnitude:
| Magnitude | Energy (Joules) | TNT Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 2.0 | 6.3 × 10⁷ | 15 kg of TNT |
| 4.0 | 6.3 × 10¹⁰ | 15 tonnes of TNT |
| 5.0 | 2.0 × 10¹² | 475 tonnes of TNT |
| 6.0 | 6.3 × 10¹³ | 15,000 tonnes of TNT |
| 7.0 | 2.0 × 10¹⁵ | 475,000 tonnes of TNT |
| 8.0 | 6.3 × 10¹⁶ | 15 million tonnes of TNT |
| 9.0 | 2.0 × 10¹⁸ | 475 million tonnes of TNT |
Key facts:
- A magnitude 5 earthquake releases as much energy as the Hiroshima bomb (~15 kilotonnes TNT)
- A magnitude 6 is about 31.6× more powerful than a magnitude 5
- The largest recorded earthquake was the 1960 Chile earthquake at magnitude 9.5
- 1 tonne of TNT = 4.184 × 10⁹ joules