Plate Tectonics

What is plate tectonics?

Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth’s outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over the mantle,
the rocky inner layer above the core. The plates act like hard and rigid shells compared to Earth’s mantle.
This strong outer layer is called the lithosphere.

The earth’s lithosphere is composed of seven or eight major plates and many minor plates. The lithosphere is
a rigid outermost shell of the earth and is broken up into tectonic plates. When these plates meet, their
relative motion determines the type of boundary like convergent, divergent, or transform.

Volcanic activity, earthquakes, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along these plate
boundaries. The relative movement of the plates typically ranges from zero to 100 mm annually.

How do plate tectonics affect humans?

Plate tectonics affects humans in several important ways.

• It causes earthquakes
• It causes volcanism
• It induces the recycling of elements within the biosphere and between the geosphere and biosphere
• It causes mountain-building

Types of plate boundaries:

Plate Boundaries mainly consist of three types (the fourth is a mixed type), formed in the manner the plates
shift in relative to each other. These are collectively referred to as surface phenomena of different types.
Plate boundaries are of different types, namely:
Transform boundaries:
These boundaries happen where two lithospheric plates move apart, or maybe further precisely, collide away
from one other despite the transform faults, where plates are neither created nor destroyed.

Divergent boundaries:
These boundaries happen when both plates move apart from one another.

Convergent boundaries:
These boundaries happen when both plates move towards one other to form a zone of subduction or a
continental collision.

Transform boundaries:
These boundaries happen when natural or human-made structures that cross a transform boundary are
offset—split into pieces and carried in opposite directions.

Plate boundary zones:

These boundaries happen where the effects of the interactions are unclear, and the boundaries usually occur
along a broad belt.
What Is a Nebula?

A nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space. Some nebulae (more than one nebula) come
from the gas and dust thrown out by the explosion of a dying star, such as a supernova. Other
nebulae are regions where new stars are beginning to form.

How do stars form in a nebula?

Nebulae are made of dust and gases—mostly hydrogen and helium. The dust and gases in a
nebula are very spread out, but gravity can slowly begin to pull together clumps of dust and gas.
As these clumps get bigger and bigger, their gravity gets stronger and stronger.
Eventually, the clump of dust and gas gets so big that it collapses from its own gravity. The
collapse causes the material at the center of the cloud to heat up-and this hot core is the
beginning of a star.

Where are nebulae?

Nebulae exist in the space between the stars—also known as interstellar space. The closest
known nebula to Earth is called the Helix Nebula. It is the remnant of a dying star—possibly one
like the Sun. It is approximately 700 light-years away from Earth. That means even if you could
travel at the speed of light, it would still take you 700 years to get there!
How do we know what nebulae look like?

Astronomers use very powerful telescopes to take pictures of faraway nebulae. Space telescopes
such as NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope have captured many
images of faraway nebulae.