Power Laws
Kazuyuki Hashimoto
Dr. Matthew M. Beaky, Faculty Mentor

Power Laws are functions that follow the form f(x)=ax^k, where a and k are constants. Power laws exist all around us. They have important properties that make them useful in modelling many situations. An example of an application of a power law is the Gutenberg-Richter law which predicts the number of earthquakes of at least a given magnitude during a specific time period. For example, an earthquake of magnitude greater than four on the Richter scale is ten times less likely than an earthquake of at least magnitude three and 100 times less likely than a earthquake of at least magnitude two. I will discuss what factors cause variables to be modelled as power laws and some consequences of power laws.

Keywords: power law

Topic(s):Physics
Statistics

Presentation Type: Oral Paper

Session: 17-1
Location: MG 1098
Time: 9:30

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