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Which Chinese invention would you use to detect earthquakes?
seismoscope
In 132 CE, inventor, Imperial Historian, and Royal Astronomer Zhang Heng displayed his amazing earthquake-detection machine, or seismoscope, at the court of the Han Dynasty. Zhang’s seismoscope was a giant bronze vessel, resembling a barrel almost 6 feet in diameter.
What was used to detect record earthquakes?
Seismographs
Seismographs are instruments used to record the motion of the ground during an earthquake.
Were there earthquakes in ancient China?
The first recorded earthquake in Chinese history occurred in 780BC in present-day Shaanxi during the final years of the Western Zhou dynasty. The horrific quake, which occurred simultaneously in the present-day provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Gansu, could be felt as far as the southern coast.
How does the earthquake detector work?
A seismograph, or seismometer, is an instrument used to detect and record earthquakes. Generally, it consists of a mass attached to a fixed base. During an earthquake, the base moves and the mass does not. The motion of the base with respect to the mass is commonly transformed into an electrical voltage.
Why was the earthquake detector invented?
His seismometer, the first known instrument built to detect earthquakes, was important, because devastating quakes happened in many remote regions of China. So a detection device helped the emperor know when and where to send timely aid from the capital.
When did earthquakes start being recorded?
The earliest earthquake for which we have descriptive information occurred in China in 1177 B.C. The Chinese earthquake catalog describes several dozen large earthquakes in China during the next few thousand years.
How common are earthquakes in China?
Ever since we entered the 20th century, more than 800 earthquakes of more than magnitude 6 have happened in China. Earthquakes have happened in almost all the provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions except in Guizhou, Zhejiang and Hong Kong.