"I repeatedly have to correct this belief. In a sense, magnitude involves steps of 10 because every increase of one magnitude represents a tenfold amplification of the ground motion. But there is no 'scale of 10' in the sense of an upper limit."
Charles Francis Richter was an American seismologist and physicist who helped develop the Richter magnitude scale for earthquakes. His work with Beno Gutenberg provided a standardized way to compare earthquake size. Richter was a central figure in modern seismology.