Grok, X-owned chatbot, claimed that an earthquake of 8.8, which earlier on Wednesday struck the Russian coast, has the power of 15,900 atomic bombs, which destroyed Hiroshima in Japan. It is also reported one of the strongest earthquakes since 2011.
A powerful quake jolted the Kamchatka Peninsula, triggering tsunami warnings across major countries surrounding the northern Pacific, including the US, China, Japan, and New Zealand. Weather agencies are predicting more tremors up to 7.5 magnitude in the coming days.
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After the major earthquake, questions began circulating on X (formerly Twitter), with users asking and fact-checking through chatbot Grok: Is an 8.8-magnitude quake really equivalent to the energy of 15,900 Hiroshima-like atomic bombs exploding simultaneously?
One of the X user named Moral Hazard asked Grok, "How much energy would this earthquake release?". On his question the X-owned chatbot said, "This magnitude 8.8 earthquake released approximately 10^18 Joules of energy, equivalent to about 239 megatons of TNT or roughly 15,900 Hiroshima atomic bombs. It indeed relieved significant tectonic stress in the subduction zone."
Let’s understand the potential impact of the earthquake based on scientific facts and research. We'll also explore why countries like Russia and Japan are particularly concerned about this quake, and what connection it might have with regions like the Indian plains.
The intensity of an earthquake is measured using the Richter scale or the Moment Magnitude Scale (Mw). This is a logarithmic scale, meaning that each whole-number increase represents an earthquake releasing approximately 31.6 times more energy. For instance, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake is 31.6 times stronger than a 7.8 magnitude quake and nearly 1,000 times stronger than a 6.8 magnitude one.
An earthquake of magnitude 8.8 falls into the category of a “Great Earthquake”. Such quakes are powerful enough to destroy buildings, roads, and entire cities. Their energy is typically measured in joules. According to Grok, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake releases approximately 9 × 10¹⁷ joules of energy. To grasp how massive this is, scientists often compare it to the energy released by atomic bombs.
The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 (“Little Boy”) had an explosive power of about 15 kilotons of TNT, equivalent to roughly 6.3 × 10¹³ joules of energy. (One kiloton of TNT equals 4.184 × 10¹² joules.)
Now, let’s compare this with the earthquake:
Energy released by 8.8 magnitude earthquake: 9 × 10¹⁷ joules
Energy released by Hiroshima bomb: 6.3 × 10¹³ joules
Ratio: (9 × 10¹⁷) ÷ (6.3 × 10¹³) ≈ 1.43 × 10⁴, or 14,300 Hiroshima bombs
Some sources estimate the equivalent to be around 9,000 Hiroshima bombs. This variation likely results from differences in calculation methods, assumptions regarding the earthquake’s depth, fault structure, or energy dissipation.