Earthquakes and other earth movements

by John Milne

Before we discuss the nature of earthquake motion, the determination of which has been the aim of modern seismological investigation, the reader will naturally look for an account of the various instruments which have been employed for recording such disturbances. A description of the earthquake machines which have been used even in Japan would form a bulky volume. All that we can do, therefore, is to describe briefly the more prominent features of a few of the more important of these instruments. In order that the relative merits of these may be better understood, we may state generally that modern research has shown a typical earthquake to consist of a series of small tremors succeeded by a shock, or series of shocks, separated by more or less irregular vibrations of the ground. The vibrations are often both irregular in period and in amplitude, and they have a duration of from a few seconds to several minutes. We will illustrate the records of actual earthquakes in a future chapter, but in the meantime the idea that an earthquake consists of a single shock must be dismissed from the imagination.

To construct an instrument which at the time of an earthquake shall move and leave a record of its motion, there is but little difficulty. Contrivances of this order are called seismoscopes. If, however, we wish to know the period, extent, and direction of each of the vibrations which constitutes an earthquake, we have considerable difficulty. Instruments which will in this way measure or write down the earth’s motions are called seismometers or seismographs.

Many of the elaborate instruments supplemented with electro-magnetic and clockwork arrangements are, when we examine them, nothing more than elaborate seismoscopes which have been erroneously termed seismographs.

The only approximations to true seismographs which have yet been invented are without doubt those which during the past few years have been used in Japan. It would be a somewhat arbitrary proceeding, however, to classify the different instruments as seismoscopes, seismometers, and seismographs, as the character of the record given by certain instruments is sometimes only seismoscopic, whilst at other times it is seismometric, depending on the nature of the disturbance. Many instruments, for instance, would record with considerable accuracy a single sudden movement, but would give no reliable information regarding a continued shaking.

Eastern Seismoscopes.—The earliest seismoscope of which we find any historical record is one which owes its origin to a Chinese called Chôko. It was invented in the year a.d. 136. A description is given in the Chinese history called ‘Gokanjo,’ and the translation of this description runs as follows:—

Fig. 1.

‘In the first year of Yōka, a.d. 136, a Chinese called Chôko invented the seismometer shown in the accompanying drawing. This instrument consists of a spherically formed copper vessel, the diameter of which is eight feet. It is covered at its top, and in form resembles a wine-bottle. Its outer part is ornamented by the figures of different kinds of birds and animals, and old peculiar-looking letters. In the inner part of this instrument a column is so suspended that it can move in eight directions. Also, in the inside of the bottle, there is an arrangement by which some record of an earthquake is made according to the movement of the pillar. On the outside of the bottle there are eight dragon heads, each of which holds a ball in its mouth. Underneath these heads there are eight frogs so placed that they appear to watch the dragon’s face, so that they are ready to receive the ball if it should be dropped. All the arrangements which cause the pillar to knock the ball out of the dragon’s mouth are well hidden in the bottle.’

‘When an earthquake occurs, and the bottle is shaken, the dragon instantly drops the ball, and the frog which receives it vibrates vigorously; any one watching this instrument can easily observe earthquakes.’

With this arrangement, although one dragon may drop a ball, it is not necessary for the other seven dragons to drop their balls unless the movement has been in all directions; thus we can easily tell the direction of an earthquake.