Turn your Mac into a seismograph

Scientists studying earthquakes and seismic conditions should find SeisMac of great utility.The application uses your Mac’s Sudden Motion Sensor to record seismic activity on a graph continuously.

SeisMac is easy to run and comes with test data so you can try it out even if you don’t have Sudden Motion Sensor. Recording can be paused anytime and you can stretch out or compress the graph. Time is also clocked, so you can reference in time any seismic activity. Going into preferences you’ll see you can set both sample rate and buffer via slider bars.

My only doubt with SeisMac is how sensible it is to movement. You will have to make sure your Mac is in a stable area and that nothing affects the recording so that the graphs display proper results. The application should result extremely useful if you live in a region previously hit by earthquakes like Mexico, Portugal or Japan.

SeisMac comes in very handy to record seismic activity straight from your Mac.

SeisMac is a Mac OS X application that turns your MacBook or MacBook Pro into a seismograph. It access your laptop’s Sudden Motion Sensor in order to display real-time, three-axis acceleration graphs. Version 2.0’s enhancements make SeisMac an even more valuable tool for classroom demonstrations of seismic concepts and techniques.

The resizable, real-time scrolling display shows an enormous amount of acceleration information. Place your laptop on a table and see the seismic waves from tapping your toe on the floor. Lay your laptop on your chest and see your heartbeat. And of course, if there is a real earthquake, SeisMac will be displaying full seismic information while you drop, cover and hold-on.