Do you want to contribute to earthquake science but can't be bothered to get an advanced degree in geophysics? Now you can just let your smartphone do all the work.
Researchers at Berkeley have developed an app that uses the accelerometer in your phone to measure the intensity of an earthquake. The app, called iShake, reports jostling to a central computer that will compare your phones movements to those of other nearby phones, creating a map that shows the strength and location of the quake.
The phone has to be resting on a flat surface for the app to work, which means that you can't cause a panic at the US Geological Survey by putting your phone in your pocket and jumping up and down.
