Why are earthquakes so hard to predict? - Jean-Baptiste P. Koehl
1,192,445 Views
26,371 Questions Answered
TEDEd Animation
Let’s Begin…
In 132 CE, Zhang Heng presented his latest invention: a large vase he claimed could tell them whenever an earthquake occurred for hundreds of miles. Today, we no longer rely on pots as warning systems, but earthquakes still offer challenges to those trying to track them. Why are earthquakes so hard to anticipate, and how could we get better at predicting them? Jean-Baptiste P. Koehl investigates.
Nowadays, most smartphones are equipped with sensors that may record the arrival of primary earthquake waves. Why can’t we use these as an earthquake predicting tool?
Sign in to answer questionAbout TED-Ed Animations
TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »
Meet The Creators
- Educator Jean-Baptiste P. Koehl
- Director Mateus Contini, Felipe Grosso
- Narrator Addison Anderson
- Animator Natália Faria, Vini Pereira, Kelvin Lima, Mateus Contini
- Editor Mateus Contini
- Art Director Ricke Ito
- Storyboard Artist Ricke Ito
- Character Designer Ricke Ito
- Sound Designer Matheus Wittmann
- Composer Matheus Wittmann
- Compositor Mateus Contini
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
- Associate Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
- Associate Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
- Script Editor Emma Bryce
- Fact-Checker Joseph Isaac
