Abstract

Chen's Plate Tectonics Theory identifies nuclear fission in the Earth's inner core as the sole dynamic source of plate motion; it overturns the concept of continental drift as an erroneous construct and refutes the notion of rigid plates, positing that the so-called rigid plates in conventional theory are in a continuous process of consumption. In doing so, the theory thoroughly upends the traditional framework of plate tectonics.

Its core tenets include the following:

Periodic bursts of nuclear fission in the Earth's inner core drive volume changes in the mantle via thermal expansion and contraction, thereby triggering expansion-contraction cycles in the crust.

1. The frequency of nuclear fission events in the inner core is transmitted to the crust through the mantle with a time delay, while the fundamental frequency remains unchanged.
2. The mantle acts as a thermal reservoir, mitigating the impact of explosive thermal energy from the inner core on the crust, a process that generates co-frequency thermal waves.
3. The crustal rifting and contraction cycles are nested across multiple frequency bands, with the intermediate-period cycle of 20-200 days identified as the critical cycle driving crustal deformation.
4. Crustal expansion and contraction are localized at pre-existing crustal weak zones: during the thermal expansion phase, failure and rupture are consistently and periodically localized at mid-ocean ridges, while during the cooling contraction phase, stress release is periodically fixed at convergent plate boundaries. This explains the concentration of earthquake events along convergent plate zones.

The self-locking structure of rock wedges formed by cooled magma enables irreversible expansion of the crust, with variations in rock wedge thickness determining the spreading rate of mid-ocean ridges. Rock wedge self-locking at mid-ocean ridges governs the long-term directional migration of tectonic plates.

The progressive growth of microcracks within plates and the formation of interconnected magma-filled fractures drive reversals in plate motion direction. At the time of its formation, the Earth was not composed of rigid continental plates and oceanic plates, but rather a uniform primitive crust covering the entire globe.

This primitive crust was subsequently rifted into multiple plates, and through successive expansion-contraction cycles, the primitive crust has been continuously consumed while new crust is persistently generated.

Only planets with an active inner core heat source are geologically "alive" and capable of hosting life.

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