Magnitude

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Magnitude may refer to:

• Magnitude (mathematics), a measure of the size of a mathematical object:
  • A vector object has both magnitude and direction as its defining characteristics.
  • A scalar object has only magnitude as its defining characteristic.

In astronomy:

• A logarithmic measure of the brightness of an astronomical object:
  • Ancient magnitude system
  • Modern magnitude system
    • Apparent magnitude
      • Apparent Photographic magnitude (Symbol m_pg)
      • Apparent Photovisual magnitude (Symbol m_pv)
      • Apparent Bolometric magnitude (Symbol m_b)
    • Absolute magnitude
      • Absolute Photographic magnitude (Symbol M_pg)
      • Absolute Photovisual magnitude (Symbol M_pv)
      • Absolute Bolometric magnitude (Symbol M_b)
• Magnitude of an eclipse

In seismology:

• Either of two measures of earthquake strength:
  • Richter magnitude scale (including the surface-wave M_s and body wave M_b magnitudes)
  • Moment magnitude scale

Other:

• Magnitude is an attack in the Pokémon fictional world

[edit] See also

• Order of magnitude, a coarse measure of numerical size