Your Letters
16:50 UK time, Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Basil (Letters, Monday) asks about the Richter scale. The Richter scale is not used to measure large earthquakes any more. It has been replaced by the "moment magnitude scale". The Richter scale had an upper limit on the greatest magnitude it could measure; the MM scale, introduced in 1979, does not.
So now, when reporting large earthquakes, it is correct to say for example "a magnitude 9.0 earthquake", rather than "measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale".
Jon, Southampton, UK
As a Jedi, I was particularly pleased to read the headline "", although I must confess to being a bit disappointed with the rest of the article.
Adam, London, UK
In response to J Paul Murdock (Letters, Monday), when addressing The Queen, Ma'am rhymes with harm not ham. Ma'am which rhymes with ham is how Americans address a woman.
Mick, Crawley
I can confirm, at least as far as the military in concerned, that Ma'am should rhyme with jam.
Andrew, Liverpool
I could have saved the a lot of trouble. In my family, we ladies have always been the early detection alarm on spoiled milk and stinky clothes. A woman's nose knows...
Nadja, north of Boston, USA
When gives up the ghost, can you use the headline: "Canny Canine Castaway Passed Away", please?
Jinja, Edinburgh
The 
