Why are earthquakes so hard to predict? - Jean-Baptiste P. Koehl

Take a look at the theories behind why earthquakes occur, what makes them so hard to predict and the warning system technologies we rely on today.

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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.

Lesson by Jean-Baptiste P. Koehl, directed by Cabong Studios.

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[kyles.]

I like how we can look into stars millions of light years away then manage to identify their size and composition. Yet we can't even look inside our very own planet.

Science is hard mannn

[FelisBX]

Everybody gangsta till the ball falls out of the dragon's mouth and into the frog's

[ciervo]

The Animation and Sound Design are delightful

[littlecardboard]

RIP my dear Turkey's brothers and Sisters, condolences from the US...🙏🙏🙏

[zuko]

2:11 _The four nations lived together in harmony. But then everything changed when earthquake attacked_

[ruei-jiunhung]

As a researcher, I wanna put a clarification about the difference between earthquake 'warning' and 'prediction'. In seismology, we have a rigorous definition on 'earthquake prediction', which requires accurate location, magnitude and timing for a future earthquake, and it is thought somehow impossible to achieve now.
earthquake warning, which is based on the early detection of seismic wave (so earthquake has occurred), sends out messages to the public. It's not a prediction.

[juno]

that one rock liked the friction a little too much 😂

[NguyenMinh-qjnj]

Wow, what an earth-shattering lesson😃

[elizabethdalloway]

Living in an earthquake prone country, in one of the cities where it's felt the strongest, I am amazed at all this information and I hope that an alarm system is soon developed that gives us more than 3 minutes warning. Great video, thanks for sharing!

[phoenixflamegames]

I recommend this channel to all my friends, so much interesting knowledge that I probably would have missed otherwise! I am very grateful Ted-ed! Thank you for educating us all!

[PDJJJJJ]

The sound of the occurrence of earthquake in this video is too realistic. Couldn't watch it without have chills down my spine. Reminded me of the catastrophic event I experienced back in 2015 in Nepal.

[samandarabdullaev]

Found this video after 7.8 earthquake in turkey 🇹🇷 pray for turkey 🙏the world needs scientist to predict coming earthquakes 💪

[yzwnofo]

*I learned more about Earthquakes in this video than I have in school*

[firdahidayatullah]

"The earth is round"
"No, the earth is flat"

Ted-ed : "no the earth is oval"
00:54

[mitwhitgaming]

4:04 Uh... that's North Korea you're building your hypothetical network through...

[frozenyogurt]

About the vase... I am Chinese and I am proud of my culture and history. But the thing is many Chinese scholars are skeptical about the existence of this vase right now. The picture of the vase you see in the video is a recreation of the original model that people put together based on ancient articles without sufficient details. They tried several recreations and just failed to predict earthquake as the antient articles claimed. It could be that the emperor at that time didn't want to expose enough details in case the technology falls into enemy's hand, or it could just be a story created to make his kingdom sound more powerful.
Well, it's all history now and we cannot really know which one is true. But a lot of Chinese scholars are recognizing this fact and proposing to change the textbooks about this vase until solid evidence says otherwise.

[tjbeniga]

Imagine pooping and then you're notified by your phone that an earthquake will happen in 5 secs. 😂

[anthonyglover]

Thank you Ted-Ed you make the best videos and have very very great lessons I love your videos

[Knowledgeduniya]

Wow the animations are good with the great explainations I love it

[te]

Another awesome video. :)
Also i wonder if other planets have quakes. Like does Mars have quakes.