(WHTM) — Residents in Pennsylvania felt shaking Friday morning as a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck New Jersey.

Earthquake reported in New Jersey, tremors felt in Pennsylvania

One of the most commonly-known earthquake measuring tools is the Richter Scale, but the system is no longer used today.

In fact, the Richter scale was replaced in the 1970s by other magnitude scales which are more accurate.

Despite the fact that it’s outdated, though, the term is still used often when discussing earthquakes.

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According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the system was first introduced in the early 1930s by American seismologist and physicist Charles Richter — who collaborated with German-American seismologist Beno Gutenberg– to measure the size of earthquakes occurring in southern California.

The logarithmic earthquake magnitude scale used relatively high-frequency data from nearby seismograph stations, according to the USGS, but as more stations were installed around the world, scientists began to notice limitations.

Among the problems was the fact that the scale was only valid for certain frequencies and distances.

Is a 4.8 earthquake big; how are earthquakes measured?

In response, a new magnitude system was developed, known as moment magnitude (Mw). This system, according to the USGS is more reliable for determining earthquake size, particularly for bigger earthquakes.

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