Posted on 01/27/2022 12:39:07 PM PST by BenLurkin
Earth is far from a solid mass of rock. The outer layer of our planet – known as the lithosphere – is made up of more than 20 tectonic plates; as these gargantuan slates glide about the face of the planet, we get the movement of continents, and interaction at the boundaries, not least of which is the rise and fall of entire mountain ranges and oceanic trenches.
Yet there's some debate over what causes these giant slabs of rock to move around in the first place.
Amongst the many hypotheses put forward over the centuries, convection currents generated by the planet's hot core have been discussed as an explanation, but it's doubtful whether this effect would produce enough energy.
A newly published study looks to the skies for an explanation. Noting that force rather than heat is most commonly used to move large objects, the authors suggest that the interplay of gravitational forces from the Sun, Moon, and Earth could be responsible for the movement of Earth's tectonic plates.
Key to the hypothesis is the barycenter – the center of mass of an orbiting system of bodies, in this case that of Earth and the Moon. This is the point around which our Moon actually orbits, and it's not directly in the center of mass of our planet, which we call the geocenter.
Instead, the location of the barycenter within Earth changes over the course of the month by as much as 600 kilometers (373 miles) because the Moon's orbit around Earth is elliptical due to our Sun's gravitational pull.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencealert.com ...
Insurance cos have known for a long time that there are more automobile crashes when there’s a full moon.
We’ve had it now.
Coming soon from the Left: Tectonic Plate movement is being enhanced by oil and gas drilling and the movement must be controlled, or it will destroy the planet!
Interesting.
It makes me wonder whether Mars once had a moon big enough to have kept it alive.
Now “all we have to do” is find a suitable body to put in the right orbit and wait.
Mars is much smaller and would likely need a smaller moon....you think Hillary has gotten big enough?
“ Having practiced medicine for over 45 years I know how crazy people get around the time of the Full Moon. ”
Years ago, a friend’s GF was a nurse in a nursing home. The residents had no idea what the moon phase was. She said when the moon was full you could hardly keep folks in their own rooms. I believe there is something to what you say.
Reading this, I’d swear someone stole my HS physics paper on the topic.
Woulda, shoulda, coulda...old news from my chair.
The rotation of Earth and the molten core and the tectonic plates as vanes to capture the energy.
Such torque converters generate heat due to friction of the liquid in contact to the vanes to exchange the energy.
Turtles
Ohhh, you said tectonic. Never mind.
"...[T]here is general agreement that the cause of the heat as manifested in Io's many volcanoes is tidal heating from the pull of gravity from Jupiter and its moon Europa...."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_heating_of_Io
Geologist Jim Berkland was well-known for trying to predict earthquakes based on tides (as well as on increases in missing-pet notices in the newspaper).
Stacy Abrams walking the Earth?
Uncle Scrooge discovered this back in the 50s.
https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Land_Beneath_the_Ground!
Of course this is true. Hard to believe it is being discussed as if it were some new discovery.
In the past many people perceived the earth to be flat because day-to-day experiences made it feel flat.
Today we tend to think of the earth as solid other than the oceans and rivers and lakes. But it’s much more like a liquid then we would typically think.
Even skyscrapers have to bend and sway or they will break. We can see during earthquakes how the ground shifts in almost a liquid fashion.
Just as the moon causes ocean tides so the rise and fall of the crust of the earth is in accordance with its position relative to the sun and moon.
This is not some new wild theory at all. The moon’s gravitational pull has long been known to be a factor on tides, and pulling and pushing on plates.
—
Shhsh! They just made this starling discovery, and its their 15 minutes of fame - so don’t rain on their retarded parade.
In proportion to the size of the Earth, our moon is the biggest in the Solar System (1/6th the mass).
We are almost a double planet.
“I imagine the full truth is a combination of forces.”
Absolutely, We look for only one cause of things, when in reality it is a concert of several sources and variables. We rule them out one at a time without ever considering the possibilities of a combination.
“missing-pet notices in the newspaper”
That one I confirmed multiple times. People I knew in CA confirmed their pets scratching at doors and windows in the days leading up to earthquakes.
Giant Earth Worms.
—”I’m a proponent of the Subterranean Rock Giants theory myself.”
And overlooking the Terries and Fermies?
“Terries cause earthquakes by rolling in massive groups of thousands against the giant pillars that support the land on the surface of the Earth, while Fermies cause earthquakes by gathering together in massive numbers and lifting up pieces of the Earth’s crust. They treat this as a sports competition: Whichever group causes the biggest earthquake (as revealed by intercepted radio transmissions) wins the contest and gets the prize, a piece of Ancient Greek pottery that fell down a crevice in Ancient Roman times in the year zero “
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.