Did Taylor Swift fans cause an earthquake? ⏲️ 6 Minute English

Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

I'm Phil. And I'm Georgie.

If you're a 'Swiftie', that's a fan of pop star, Taylor Swift,

her music rocks your world.

I like that phrase 'rock your world', Phil.

It means that something makes your life enjoyable, right?

Well, yes, but actually, no. Georgie.

I mean, Taylor Swift literally rocks the world.

At a recent concert in Edinburgh, as part of Taylor Swift's 'Eras' Tour,

her fans' energetic dancing literally moved the Earth, with seismic activity

usually associated with earthquakes detected four miles away!

Yes, it's hard to believe,

but in this programme we'll be hearing about the 'Swiftquake', a powerful force

like an earthquake, coming not from nature but from a pop concert.

And as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

Great. But first I have a question for you, Georgie.

Actually, Taylor Swift's Edinburgh show wasn't the first music concert

to trigger seismic waves. In 1992,

the band Madness caused two earthquakes that saw local residents evacuated

from their homes.

But at which London venue did the concert take place?

Was it a) Hyde Park? b) The Royal Albert Hall? or c) Finsbury Park?

Hmm, I'll guess

the concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall.

OK, Georgie, I'll reveal the correct answer

at the end of the programme. Following Taylor Swift's Edinburgh concert,

seismologists Emma Greenough and James Panton from Cardiff University

wanted to see if the same thing would happen at Taylor's concert in Cardiff.

Seismologists are scientists who study earthquakes and seismic waves.

Emma and James set up their equipment to monitor and record ground motion

as the concert got started,

as James explains here to Marnie Chesterton, presenter

of BBC Radio 4 programme 'Inside Science':

Tell me about the the peak on this graph that you're seeing, and

what that actually corresponds to.

In this top graph of the red wiggly line,

we're looking at the ground velocity in essentially metres per second.

So, that's the velocity that the ground is vibrating up and down.

So, this is literally people stamping up and down.

Yes, so this is all of the energy combined from the 73,000 people

in the stadium, jumping in unison and stamping in unison.

James, the British Geological Survey recorded 23.4 nanometers

of movement in Edinburgh.

What's that actually mean?

So, what that means is that they recorded the ground flexing up and down

by a distance of 23 nanometers.

James's equipment recorded seismic movement

when Taylor Swift started to sing. Her hit song 'Cruel Summer' created a peak -

the highest point in the graph which James's machine was drawing.

The peak was made by thousands of Swifties jumping up and down

in unison, together and

at the same time, creating something like a mini earthquake.

The seismologists measured a ground movement of 23 nanometers.

That may not sound much,

but remember this is the Earth itself actually flexing,

or bending without breaking.

So, the ground is shaking, music is blasting,

and thousands of fans are dancing.

But, does this qualify as an earthquake, scientifically speaking?

Here's James Panton and Marnie Chesterton again

for BBC Radio 4's 'Inside Science'.

James, impressive as this is to see coming up on your seismograph,

this is not the same league really, as an earthquake.

No, definitely not.

There have been some people who have tried to convert the energy output

from concerts

into a local magnitude scale to make it comparable to an earthquake, and

when that's happened, we find magnitudes that are generally less than one.

Sadly, the answer to Georgie's question is 'no' -

the Taylor Swift concert wasn't technically an earthquake.

Marnie says the concert was 'not in the same league',

an idiom meaning not nearly as good or important as something else.

Yes, the energy created by the music's sound waves

and thousands of fans jumping did move the earth,

but not in a way that's comparable or similar to a real earthquake.

By definition, an earthquake must break the Earth's crust

and is caused by either the movement of tectonic plates or a volcano.

Officially, Taylor Swift didn't cause an earthquake,

but for the Swifties it probably felt like one.

All of which brings us back to my question, Georgie.

I asked you about another earth-shattering concert involving

the British band, Madness, but where in London did the show take place?

And I guessed it was at the Royal Albert Hall.

Which was the wrong answer, I'm afraid.

Georgie. In fact, the concert happened in Finsbury Park.

OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learnt in this programme,

starting with the phrase, 'rock your world',

meaning that someone or something has a positive effect on you,

making your life enjoyable.

A peak is the highest point of something.

When things happen in unison, they happen together at the same time.

'To flex' means to bend without breaking.

If you say something is not in the same league as something else,

you mean it's nowhere near as good or important.

And finally, the adjective comparable means similar in size, amount,

or quality.

Once again, our six minutes are up, but remember to join us again next time

for more trending topics and useful vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English.

Goodbye for now. Bye.