Introduction to the Classic Paper: Body Force Equivalents for Seismic Dislocations, by R. Burridge and L. Knopoff

Abstract

The Burridge and Knopoff (1964) paper played a critical role in the development of the theory of the earthquake source, and its importance is best appreciated when it is considered within that context. For this reason, a brief historical overview will be presented. A more detailed presentation and a number of basic results needed to understand the paper can be found in the accompanying tutorial (Pujol, 2003; see this issue, pp. 163-153). Although solving the elastic wave equation for an arbitrary body force is a difficult problem, solutions for single and double couples had been known since the early 1900's. The problem that seismologists …