---
title: "2 Factor Quotes By Charles Francis Richter"
description: "2 Factor quotes by Charles Francis Richter. Plus more from Charles Francis Richter and more Factor sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/charles-francis-richter-15733_acceleration_emphasis-was-usually-put-on-the-horizont_17093.png"
---

> [Emphasis was usually put on the horizontal acceleration factor, for the simple reason that ordinary structures have a built-in safety factor for the vertical component; that is, gravity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/emphasis-was-usually-put-on-the-horizontal-acceleration-factor-for/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/charles-francis-richter-15733_acceleration_emphasis-was-usually-put-on-the-horizont_17093.png)

> [What emerged, of course, was that the magnitude scale presupposed that all earthquakes were alike except for a constant scaling factor. And this proved to be closer to the truth than we expected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/what-emerged-of-course-was-that-the-magnitude-scale-presupposed-that/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/charles-francis-richter-15733_alike_what-emerged-of-course-was-that-the-magn_1501572.png)

## Other authors on Factor

## More by Charles Francis Richter

> [Emphasis was usually put on the horizontal acceleration factor, for the simple reason that ordinary structures have a built-in safety factor for the vertical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/emphasis-was-usually-put-on-the-horizontal-acceleration-factor-for/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [Nothing is less predictable than the development of an active scientific field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/nothing-is-less-predictable-than-the-development-of-an-active/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [The rose does not bloom without thorns. True, but would that the thorns did not outlive the rose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/the-rose-does-not-bloom-without-thorns-true-but-would-that-the-thorns/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [Refining is inevitable in science when you have made measurements of a phenomenon for a long period of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/refining-is-inevitable-in-science-when-you-have-made-measurements-of/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [As seismologists gained more experience from earthquake records, it became obvious that the problem could not be reduced to a single peak acceleration. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/as-seismologists-gained-more-experience-from-earthquake-records-it/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [No joy in nature is so sublimely affecting as the joy of a mother at the good fortune of a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/no-joy-in-nature-is-so-sublimely-affecting-as-the-joy-of-a-mother-at/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [The laboratory routine, which involves a great deal of measurement, filing, and tabulation, is either my lifeline or my chief handicap, I hardly know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/the-laboratory-routine-which-involves-a-great-deal-of-measurement/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [I repeatedly have to correct this belief. In a sense, magnitude involves steps of 10 because every increase of one magnitude represents a tenfold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/i-repeatedly-have-to-correct-this-belief-in-a-sense-magnitude/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [ Magnitude may be compared to the power output in kilowatts of a \[radio\] broadcasting station; local intensity, on the Mercalli or similar scale, is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/magnitude-may-be-compared-to-the-power-output-in-kilowatts-of-a-radio/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [From here, it becomes an engineering problem; the engineer considers the ground motion that will occur and evaluates the requirements of the proposed structure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/from-here-it-becomes-an-engineering-problem-the-engineer-considers/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [If the assumptions used in calculating energy are changed, then this seriously affects the final result, even though the same body of data might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/if-the-assumptions-used-in-calculating-energy-are-changed-then-this/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [There is another common misapprehension that the magnitude scale is itself some kind of instrument or apparatus. Visitors will frequently ask to 'see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/there-is-another-common-misapprehension-that-the-magnitude-scale-is/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [The most remarkable feature about the magnitude scale was that it worked at all and that it could be extended on a worldwide basis.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/the-most-remarkable-feature-about-the-magnitude-scale-was-that-it/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [I suggested that we might compare earthquakes in terms of the measured amplitudes recorded at these stations, with an appropriate correction for distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/i-suggested-that-we-might-compare-earthquakes-in-terms-of-the/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [I was lucky because logarithmic plots are a device of the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/i-was-lucky-because-logarithmic-plots-are-a-device-of-the-devil/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factor/charles-francis-richter/#itemlist",
            "name": "2 Factor Quotes By Charles Francis Richter",
            "numberOfItems": 2,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Emphasis was usually put on the horizontal acceleration factor, for the simple reason that ordinary structures have a built-in safety factor for the vertical component; that is, gravity.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Charles Francis Richter"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/emphasis-was-usually-put-on-the-horizontal-acceleration-factor-for/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/charles-francis-richter-15733_acceleration_emphasis-was-usually-put-on-the-horizont_17093.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/charles-francis-richter-15733_acceleration_emphasis-was-usually-put-on-the-horizont_17093.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/charles-francis-richter-15733_acceleration_emphasis-was-usually-put-on-the-horizont_17093.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Emphasis was usually put on the horizontal acceleration factor, for the simple reason that ordinary…” — Charles Francis Richter",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "What emerged, of course, was that the magnitude scale presupposed that all earthquakes were alike except for a constant scaling factor. And this proved to be closer to the truth than we expected.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Charles Francis Richter"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/what-emerged-of-course-was-that-the-magnitude-scale-presupposed-that/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/charles-francis-richter-15733_alike_what-emerged-of-course-was-that-the-magn_1501572.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/charles-francis-richter-15733_alike_what-emerged-of-course-was-that-the-magn_1501572.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/charles-francis-richter-15733_alike_what-emerged-of-course-was-that-the-magn_1501572.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“What emerged, of course, was that the magnitude scale presupposed that all earthquakes were alike except for…” — Charles Francis Richter",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factor/charles-francis-richter/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factor/charles-francis-richter/",
            "name": "Factor Quotes by Charles Francis Richter",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factor/charles-francis-richter/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/charles-francis-richter-15733_acceleration_emphasis-was-usually-put-on-the-horizont_17093.png"
            },
            "description": "2 Factor quotes by Charles Francis Richter. Plus more from Charles Francis Richter and more Factor sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factor/charles-francis-richter/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factor/charles-francis-richter/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Factor",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factor/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Charles Francis Richter",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factor/charles-francis-richter/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```