The Richter scale measures the magnitude of earthquakes, quantifying the energy released during seismic events. Developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter, this logarithmic scale assigns a number to the seismic energy, allowing for a standardized comparison of earthquakes. Each whole number increase on the scale represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude and roughly 31.6 times more energy release. Although the Richter scale has been largely replaced by the Moment Magnitude Scale (Mw) for larger earthquakes, it remains widely recognized and is often referenced in popular media.