Richter To Energy Calculator

Work out richter to energy instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Richter To Energy Calculator

A magnitude 7 earthquake radiates about 2.0e15 J - roughly 32 Hiroshima bombs, or 475 kilotonnes of TNT. Expressing seismic energy against familiar references makes the logarithmic scale tangible: a magnitude 9 releases a thousand times more than a magnitude 7, which is why megathrust events are in a different category entirely.

Formulas

Energy from magnitude

log10(E) = 1.5 M + 4.8

TNT equivalence

1 tonne of TNT = 4.184e9 J

Worked example

With the default values below, Richter To Energy Calculator returns Energy Released of 1.99526 × 10¹⁵. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Richter magnitudeaccepts -2–10: 7
Compare withone of Hiroshima bomb (15 kt), Tonne of TNT, Lightning strike (5 GJ), Annual UK electricity use (1.1 EJ): Hiroshima bomb (15 kt)

Results

Energy Released: 1.99526 × 10¹⁵ J
Equivalent Number Of The Chosen Reference: 3.1792 × 10¹
TNT Equivalent: 4.7688 × 10² kt
Same Energy In Kilowatt-Hours: 5.5424 × 10⁸

Step by step

1Values used
2Energy from magnitude
3TNT equivalence
4Energy Released= 1,995,260,000,000,000.00000 J
5Equivalent Number Of The Chosen Reference= 31.7919
6TNT Equivalent= 476.8790 kt
7Same Energy In Kilowatt-Hours= 554,240,000.0000

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 5 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Richter scale still used?

Not for large events. Moment magnitude replaced it because Richter's local scale saturates above about magnitude 7.

Why do similar magnitudes cause different damage?

Depth, distance, local soil amplification and building stock matter enormously. A shallow magnitude 6 under a city is worse than a deep magnitude 7 offshore.