Salt Lake Tribune | 1914-05-24 | Page 52 | An Earthquake Every Few Minutes

An EARTHQUAKE Every FEW MINUTES j C' ONTRART to popular belief, earthquakes are by no means rare occurrences. As a matter I of fact, practically all places on, the ! surface of the earth experience some ' kind of tremor or shake at least once ! an hour, and lesser tremblings are even more frequent. This fact has been established since the opening throughout the world of stations where seismographs record the . ; slightest movement of this earth of I ours. Science declares that we live in a ' .. perpetual storm centre of vibrations I of various kinds. Our ears are con-etantly con-etantly assailed with various vibra tions of the air. Our eyes are continually con-tinually affected by the ether vibrations vibra-tions of light . and heat, while our bodies are constantly being shaken by the tremors of the earth. Besides the earth's local vibration, it is now known that Its axis wabbles along through space. Even the sun and the whole family of planets all move along In a more or less vibrational vibra-tional fashion. The seismographs can be made to serve several other useful purposes besides the recording of earthquakes. Some of them are so delicate that a railroad train running a mile away will affect them. Seismograph records have fre- J quently been produced in court to show that the. operation of heavy machinery produced sufficient vibration vibra-tion in nearby buildings to make the owners of the factory liable (or damages. Probably the most unusual purpose to which the seismograph has ever been put is that of determining the amount of vibration in a locomotive as a result of unbalanced drivins-wheels. drivins-wheels. Engineers have devised some ingenious methods of cutting down this vibration, which means a a greatly decreased consumption of coal.