Source: https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/richter-moment-magnitude-seismic-energy/

instrument / verified-clean

# Richter/Moment Magnitude ↔ Seismic Energy

The current ledger marks this instrument verified clean within the source-bound verification corpus.

Status: **VERIFIED_CLEAN**Lifecycle: **verified-clean**

## Inspectable records

[01**Overview**Purpose and lifecycle](<https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/richter-moment-magnitude-seismic-energy/>)[02**Mechanism**Method and assumptions](<https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/richter-moment-magnitude-seismic-energy/mechanism/>)[03**Implementation**Binding and validation](<https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/richter-moment-magnitude-seismic-energy/implementation/>)[04**Qualification**Evidence and errata](<https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/richter-moment-magnitude-seismic-energy/qualification/>)

## Ledger state

The current ledger marks this instrument verified clean within the source-bound verification corpus.

**Area**: Earth & Space (astronomy, orbital mechanics, meteorology, geology, geodesy, oceanography)

**Tranche**: tranche-5

**Evidence ID**: t5-038

**Ledger rows**: 1

No ledger note is attached.

## Review findings

The numerical relation is standard under the stated joule convention, but the instrument needs an explicit magnitude-scale scope, the reverse formula, a TNT conversion constant, a clear label such as 'estimated seismic-wave energy,' input validation for positive reverse-energy inputs, and the missing reference data before it can receive an unqualified PASS.

### Formula and scope findings

- log10(E[J]) = 4.8 + 1.5M is a standard empirical estimate for radiated seismic-wave energy, but the spec ambiguously presents it as universally valid for both Mw and ML; these magnitude scales are not interchangeable and ML can saturate for larger earthquakes.

- The reverse computation is claimed but its formula is not explicitly specified; it should be M = (log10(E[J]) - 4.8) / 1.5.

- The phrase 'energy released' is potentially misleading because this relation estimates seismic-wave energy, not the earthquake's total physical energy budget.

- TNT-equivalent output is specified without providing the required conversion constant.

### Unit assumptions

- E is seismic energy in joules.

- log10 is base-10 logarithm.

- M is treated as a dimensionless magnitude value and the same empirical relation is applied to the declared magnitude scale.

- For TNT conversion, 1 tonne of TNT = 4.184e9 J and 1 kilotonne of TNT = 4.184e12 J.

- Negative or zero magnitudes are mathematically permitted by the relation, although zero magnitude is an edge case rather than a typical damaging earthquake.

- The requested historical-earthquake comparisons require a reference table that is not included in the supplied spec.

## Boundary hardening

**BREAK_CLAIMED** · SELF_FLAGGED

Zero joules is a valid-looking numeric input but makes the inverse logarithm undefined. The instrument must reject E = 0; returning a finite magnitude would be a failure.

## Errata and corrections

No applied erratum is attached to this unique-name record.

## Inspectable example

4 review vectors are recorded. One source-bound sample is shown below.

````
{
  "inputs": {
    "magnitude": 5,
    "magnitude_type": "Mw"
  },
  "expected_outputs": {
    "energy_j": 1995262314968.879,
    "tnt_tonnes": 476.8791,
    "tnt_kilotonnnes": 0.4768791
  },
  "working": "log10(E) = 4.8 + 1.5*5.0 = 4.8 + 7.5 = 12.3. Therefore E = 10^12.3 = 1.9952623149688788e12 J. TNT tonnes = 1.9952623149688788e12 / 4.184e9 = 476.8791 tonnes. TNT kilotonnes = 476.8791 / 1000 = 0.4768791 kt."
}
````

## Related workflows

No source-defined multi-instrument workflow membership is recorded.

## Sources and evidence

These pointers bind the page to evidence. They do not grant authority or collapse verification into deployment.

- `VERIFIED_LEDGER.json · VERIFIED_CLEAN`

- `evidence-tranche5/tranche5-results.json`

- `BOUNDARY_HAZARD_CATALOG.json`