Scale is a measure used for define proportional dimensions of actual sizes in graphical representations.
There are several different definitions of scale. This word can be used, for example, to refer to the stop an aircraft or ship makes to supply or disembark and pick up passengers.
There are also several types of scales to determine the intensity of atmospheric phenomena, such as the Beaufort Scale (intensity of winds); Fujita scale (intensity of tornadoes); Mohs scale (of hardness of materials); between others.
Cartographic scale
It is used to know the correct proportion between real space and the space represented on the map. It is an essential feature for map orientation.
Usually, cartographic scales are represented as a fraction, where the numerator indicates the plane value and the denominator the actual size value.
For example, 1:50 means that 1 cm on the map is equivalent to 50 cm in the real area.
There are three main types of cartographic scales:
- natural scale (when the actual size is the same as represented in the graphic plane. This scale is numerically represented as 1:1);
- reduced scale (when the actual size is larger than the represented area. This scale is often used in territory maps or house plans. 1:10000 or 1:3000000);
- Expanded scale (when the graphic size is larger than the real one. It is used to show minimal details of a certain area, especially small spaces. 50:1 or 400:1, for example).
See also the Types of maps.
Richter scale
Used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes. This measure was created by seismologist Charles F. Richter.
The Richter scale starts from 0 (zero) degrees and is theoretically infinite, but an earthquake more intense than 10 degrees has never been observed.
Learn more about meaning of earthquake.
