REPORTS AND PAPERS 1)1

PPPS, PPSS, PSSS, PPPS', • PPSS', and PSSS'. These wav<

served on many records. A few examples are here given.

Station A° New phases, observed

Sydney 23.3 PP C

Apia 49.8 P P,
C P S,
C SS C

Batavia 63.4 PP
c y SS C

Honolulu...- 87.3 P P,
C S S,
C P SS P
e c ( l a t e ) , PPPS, SPS
Hyderabad 98.2 PcSS P, e PPPS, PPSS, PPSS'
Victoria 124.S PPPS, SPS, PPSS
Cartuja 152.9 PPPS, SPS, PPSS, PSSS
Vienna • 154.2 PPSS, PPSS'
Munich 156.8 SPS, PSSS
Zurich 157.9 PSSS. PPSS , : PPSS'
Strasbourg 159.1 PPPS, SPS, PPSS, PSSS, PPSS'
Felclberg 159.6 SPS, PPSS
Paris 162.0 SPS, PPSS, PPSS'
TJccle 162.1 SPS, PPSS, PPSS'
St. Louis University,
St. Louis, Mo.

SIMPLE A P P A R A T U S FOR SEISMIC MEASUREMENTS

PAUL KIBKPATKICK

The failure of the falling columns of Mallet, West, Milne, Omori, and
Galitzin to attain to the dignity of precise seismometrical instruments
appears to have been due to the fact that the true relation connecting
the constants of the columns with the constants of the earth-motion nec­
essary and sufficient for their overthrow was not known to these workers.
This ignorance is not surprising since the columns used were subject
to resonant disturbance by earth-vibrations of certain frequencies, and
hence the mechanical problem involved was very complicated. The pres­
ent paper describes a type of column, or as we shall say, a bar, which is
braced at one side and suitably fitted with a bearing so that it is free to
fall in one direction only. This arrangement has been found to eliminate
all resonant vibration of the column and greatly to simplify the theo­
retical statement of the conditions governing its downfall.
By making the assumptions that the motion of the quake when the
bar falls is simple harmonic, and that the bar in its erect position is not
far from vertical it has been possible to obtain a complete solution of
the problem of the motion of the bar. This solution is presented in a
supplement attached to this paper so that the development may be con-
92 AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION—1927

suited in its entirety if desired, but the only portion of which we have
need at present is the conclusion that a bar will just be thrown down by
a horizontal oscillation lying in its plane of rotation if the m a x i m u m
acceleration of the motion has the value

I n this equation R is the radius of gyration of the bar, L is the distance

from its center of mass to its axis of rotation, and T is the period of the
oscillation. The angle through which the erect bar must be rotated
before coming to the position of unstable equilibrium is <j>.
This equation is substantiated not only by a rigorous derivation but
also by an exhaustive experimental test. A n oscillating table capable
of horizontal simple harmonic motion of adjustable period and am­
plitude was employed. Every variable quantity represented in the above
equation was varied widely, and of over five hundred observations every
one conformed to the equation within the leeway of two or three per
cent which the uncertainties of observation permitted.
If we consider a family of bars of similar construction and with
parallel axes of rotation but differing in their angles of inclination it is
evident that a quake of moderate intensity will overturn those bars
which are inclined at the smaller angles, leaving the remainder stand­
ing. The critical value of <f> which divides the fallen from the standing
bars can therefore be determined with a precision depending only upon
the number of bars used. But the equation shows that a knowledge of
this critical angle will not, in general, suffice to determine the m a x i m u m
acceleration, since this acceleration is also a function of the period of
oscillation. T h e influence of the period can be suppressed only by mak­
ing the whole second term under the radical sign a small quantity.
Experiment shows that this may be done by a suitable choice of the
form and dimensions of the bar, so successfully, at least, that for all
oscillations with periods greater than one-fourth of a second the maxi­
m u m acceleration is fully determined by the critical angle, with an error
which can not be greater than six per cent and which is much less in
nearly all cases. It is probably not worth while at present to strive for
greater accuracy at this point, since the errors resulting from the assump­
tion that the earth-motion is simple harmonic have not been investigated.
Further information may be derived from the bars. Referring again
to the equation, one sees that a knowledge of the critical angle, as o b -
 REPORTS AND PAPERS 93

tained by observing a given set of bars, gives an equation in which

maximum acceleration and period alone are unknown. F r o m a second
set of bars, different from the first in their dimensions, another critical
angle is observed, giving another relation between acceleration and
period. The two equations are independent and together suffice to de­
termine both the acceleration and the period. F r o m these quantities
the approximate amplitude is readily computed. These determinations
are subject to three errors only. The first is the error in determining the
critical angles; it may be made as small as desired by the use of a larger
number of bars. The second is the error involved in the assumption
that 6 is s m a l l ; this is entirely negligible for quakes of small intensity
and rises only to about one per cent with very disastrous quakes. The
third error is that of the assumption that near the time of maximum
acceleration the earth-motion is simple harmonic. Assumptions of this
kind have often been made, but never, so far as the writer knows, criti­
cally investigated. It is impossible at the present time to make a
numerical statement of the exactitude of this assumption, but its validity
becomes of less and less importance as the radius of gyration of the bars
is diminished. A personal view is that errors of this sort can be kept
below five per cent in the acceleration-determinations.

The bars which are now being used are of an inverted !T-shape (see
Figure 1 ) . Nearly all of the mass is in the crosspiece, which is of lead.
Near the ends of the crosspiece steel
cups, taken from watch bearings, are
located, and these cups rest over verti- support
cal steel needles fixed in a horizontal
base-board. The upright member of
the inverted T leans against an adjust­
L
able stop, which controls the magnitude ^
S u p p o 1
of 0. The upright is two or three £ivofs
inches in length and the horizontal
member about four. T h e center of mass
o f the system is perhaps two millimeters FIG. 1
above the points of the supporting S c h e m a t i c diagram of simple ap-
needles, giving the small radius of gyra- pa ratus for seismic measure-
tion required by theory. The bars are ments.
readily reset by tilting the entire base­
board. N o attempt has been made to determine the utmost sensitivity
which is possible with such a bar but it has been shown repeatedly that
shocks well below the threshold of perceptibility are dependably registered.
94 AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION—1921

MATHEMATICAL SUPPLEMENT

Consider a rigid bar of mass m, and of any shape, such as the r o d

of Figure 2. A n axis of rotation is provided at x, horizontal, and per­
pendicular to the plane of the diagram. T h e dis­
tance from x to the center of mass of the bar w i l l
be designated by L, and the angle between the direc­
tion of L and the vertical by 9. Inclination to the
right indicates a positive 0.
Let the axis undergo a horizontal acceleration, a,
toward the right. T h i s will produce a counter­
clockwise inertial torque. Considering also the
clockwise gravitational torque we have as the re­
sultant (positive when counter-clockwise) torque

FIG. 2 Q — maL c o s 6 — mgL sin 6 (1)

D i a g r a m for devel­ Restricting 0 to small values this may be written

opment of mathe
matical theory.
Q = maL — mgL Q (2)
Seismic accelerations are oscillatory in character,
and more or less similar to the accelerations of simple harmonic motion.
We shall investigate the behavior of the bar when subjected to horizontal
simple harmonic motion in the plane of the diagram, of period T, and
amplitude r. The acceleration of such motion is

4ttV . / . 2ttA
-fi sin U + y I

Equation ( 2 ) then becomes

4x m L r 2

• SIN mg L 6 (3)

Equating this torque to the rate of change of angular momentum we

obtain the differential equation of motion of the bar

2
d0 mgL 6 - 4

Introducing the constants A, B, and K, this becomes

2
d0
- A 6 + B sin (a + K t) = 0

The general solution of Equation ( 4 ) is found to be

/At B
e = c f" + c
1 2 e V A t
+
K* + A
sin (a + Kt) (5)
 REPORTS AND PAPERS 95

The ease which is of interest in this investigation is that in which the

bar is initially at rest at some particular angle, at the instant when
t = = 0- These conditions make possible the determination of the con­
stants in equation ( 5 ) . They are

B K
n ( -sma\ + -
2

K
C 2 = cos a + sin
2
2(KHA)VVI
Inserting these values we obtain

B
-y/~At
2 ( K * + A ) VA/A c o s a
~ s m a
) +
2J '

(6)
+
\_2(Kz + A ) \ VI c o s
« + sin
HI
a

s i n + K i )
+ ^ + A ^

It will be found convenient to expand equation (6) and recombine it

into the following form
1
K°- + A ( K + A a , . \ , n r .
= I — - g — 8 — sm a I cosh v At
B
(7)
— ;^F|- cos a sinh v i ( + sin (a + 20)

The conditions described above are physically realized by allowing

the upper end of the bar to rest against a stop, the position of which
may be varied if it is desired to change 6'. I f this system be subjected
T
to horizontal simple harmonic motion as described above, the bar w ill
not rotate or rise from its stop unless Q attains positive values at some
time in the cycle, that is, unless the acceleration at some time exceeds g
tan or for small angles simple g B\ I f the maximum acceleration
slightly exceeds this threshold value, the bar will rise from its supporting
stop but will drop back as the acceleration decreases again, without reach­
ing its vertical position. I f the acceleration be still further increased,
however, the bar will eventually be carried over the vertical position and
will fall down on the other side. T h e critical acceleration sufficient to
do this is a function of of T and r, and of the constants of the bar.
We proceed to find its value.
The downfall of the bar means that 6 passes permanently to negative
values. Since the sine term in equation ( 7 ) merely oscillates about zero
96 AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION—1927

it is required that the sum of the first two terms of the right member
shall remain negative for all large values of t. T h e hyperbolic functions
approach equality, so that after t has become large these first two terms
may be replaced by

2
K A „, 4- K
sinh V A t
^X Y
6 - sm a A
7= c o s a
B VA
Since the hyperbolic sine is always positive its coefficient must become
negative if the bar is to upset, the threshold of instability being defined
by the condition
2
K + A a / K
— sm a cos a = 0 (8)
B V a

It has been stated that the bar first begins to rise when the acceleration
attains the value g 0\ This is stated t h u s :

B u t at this instant t — 0, so we have a as defining equation for sin a

2
4 7rr .
sm a =
or
g T*d'
sm a 4 7r r 2

and (9)
2
<7 ^
cos a =Vl i 16x r4 2

Inserting these values in ( S ) , replacing the values of .-1, B, and K, and

simplifying

4TV m I
(10)
Q l/mlT* + 4T*IT*/g

or

Therefore m a x i m u m acceleration, where R is the radius of gyration, is

'4/9 + m L T 2 9
V 1 +
Tlt 5

University of Hawaii,
Honolulu, T. H.