1999 on the richter scale

[JVS]

Does anyone remember the rap song and video that has as it's premise that at the turn of the year from 1999 to 2000 that an earthquake with the magnitude 1999 struck and the tectonic plates shifted so greatly that LA and NYC were pushed together to form one city, thereby ending the East/West coast schism within rap? I'd like to know the title and artists of that so I can show friends who don't believe me that the song exists.

Also, about an earthquake of 1999 on the richter scale: how powerful would it be?

Would it be too weak to result in that kind of plate motion, or would it be so powerful as to completely destroy all landmasses in the world leaving only dust or just blow up the world?

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. a "1999" on the richter scale is impossible!

[JVS]

2. Why?

[Jesus H. Christ]

4. Richter scale is logarithmic.

A 9.0 is ten times more powerful than an 8.0.

A 1999 would be 10^1990 times more powerful than a 9.0

If you're not familiar with scientific notation, that's a one followed by 1990 zeroes.

As far as the song, I'm not sure. I haven't heard it. But I suspect it'd be by Bone Thugs N' Harmony. They have a sort of 1999 numerology thing going on.

[JVS]

5. I know it is logarithmic and how that works and that it is extremely...

unlikely, but I still need a more specific reason to believe that it couldn't happen. You have only demonstrated that it would be an unimaginably powerful quake.

[Jesus H. Christ]

6. I don't think you understand how big a number 10^1990 is.

That's more atoms than there are in the universe.

[JVS]

7. But Earthquakes are based on energy, not matter

So would the energy of a 1999 quake be greater than the amount of energy in the universe? Actually let's just consider earth, is there enough potential energy on earth (we can consider matter as energy here) to generate that kind of energy?

[Jesus H. Christ]

8. Richter scale is based on displacement, in microns.

But regardless, I doubt there'd be that much potential energy in the universe.

[Jesus H. Christ]

11. Back of the envelope calculation.

So an earthquake of 1999 on the richter scale would mean a displacement of 10^1999 microns.

Or 10^1993 meters.

Or 10^1990 kilometers

There's about 9.5 trillion kilometers per light year, so that means roughly

10^1977 light years.

Now given that the universe is, let's say 30 billion light years in diameter (which is an overestitmate) then it'd be around 100 billion light years in circumference.

So an earthquake of 1999 would spin the earth around the outside of the universe:

10^1966 times.

[JVS]

12. Cool!

[GOPBasher]

13. I think Jesus H. Christ is right here.

I think Jesus (not to be confused with him of Nathareth that some people worship as God) is correct here. There's no way there's that much potential enery in earth, and I don't even think, as he stated, there's that much in the universe. I'm a physics teacher, not a geologist, but it is definitely impossible. Now, we need to stop talking about such technical things. There may be some Republicans lurking; this will make their brains explode! We don't want that.

[JVS]

14. I am also convinced that it cannot happen now

But I'm glad we went through the figuring

[SKKY]

3. I think it's safe to say that, if there was an earthquake of 1999...

...on the richter scale, the earth would cease to be.

[Az]

9. That actualy might pierce Plank's constant

and bring the uninverse to an end.

[mark414]

10. oh damn you're going to make my head explode

i know EXACTLY what you're talking about but i can't think of who it is

[JVS]

15. SOMEONE MUST KNOW!

[JVS]

16. kick