1seismo drawing


	Seismograph Exhibit The new Seismograph Exhibit for the Arkansas Museum Network is finished! Many thanks to J. Lahr (USGS), Dave F., Andrew L., Klover K., and Pearl T.(Exploratorium). A seismograph measures the magnitude of an earthquake by sensing and recording the shaking it causes. Extremely sensitive seismographs can detect earthquakes too small to feel, even those happening on the far side of the globe.

Conceptual drawing: This seismograph detects up-and-down motion. When the ground shakes, the coil shakes with it but the magnet stays still. (The magnet is isolated from vibrations by a shock-absorbing system—a spring and some thick oil.) The motion of the coil near the magnet creates a small electrical current in the coil that then gets amplified and displayed on the computer screen.

2006, Sebastian Martin