The lithosphere (from the Greek for "rocky" sphere) is the solid outermost shell of a rocky planet. On the Earth, the lithosphere includes the crust and the uppermost layer of the mantle (the upper mantle or lower lithosphere) which is joined to the crust.
As the cooling surface layer of the Earth's convection system, the lithosphere thickens over time. It is fragmented into relatively strong pieces, called tectonic plates (shown in the picture), which move independently relative to one another. This movement of lithospheric plates is described as plate tectonics.
The distinguishing characteristic of the lithosphere is not composition, but its flow properties. Under the influence of the low-intensity, long-term stresses that drive plate tectonic motions, the lithosphere responds essentially as a rigid shell and thus deforms primarily through brittle failure, whereas the asthenosphere (the layer of the mantle below the lithosphere) is heat-softened and accommodates strain through plastic deformation. Both the crust and upper mantle float on the more plastic asthenosphere. The crust is distinguished from the upper mantle by the change in chemical composition that takes place at the Moho discontinuity.
There are two types of lithosphere:
oceanic lithosphere
continental lithosphere
Oceanic lithosphere is about 70 km thick (but can be as thin as 1.6 km at the mid-ocean ridges), while continental lithosphere is about 150 km thick (and can be considerably thicker at continental collision zones). Oceanic lithosphere consists mainly of mafic and ultramafic rocks and is denser than continental lithosphere, which consists predominantly of felsic rocks. This higher density has the effect that at subduction zones the oceanic plate will invariably sink underneath the continental plate. New oceanic lithosphere is constantly being produced at mid-ocean ridges from mantle material and is recycled back to the mantle at subduction zones. As a result, oceanic lithosphere is much younger than continental lithosphere: the oldest oceanic lithosphere is about 200 million years old, while parts of the continental lithosphere are billions of years old. As oceanic lithosphere grows older, it gets cooler and denser, with the result that if two oceanic plates converge, the older one will subduct below the younger one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithosphere
Boys mature slower than girls so they seem stupid.
Good Luck!
2006-06-19 04:29:41
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answer #1
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answered by Corn_Flake 6
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you are joking right? the litosphere is by the astosphere? I don't know what's worse your question knocking stupid boys while screwing up two words quite nicely or the people that answered what a litosphere was as in it being an actual word and part of the atmosphere, dear lord
2006-06-19 04:47:30
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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No idea about the litosphere thing, but from a Biblical perspective on the boy issue: First God created man, and it was "good", then she created woman and it was "very good".
Also, God said "it is not good for man to be alone". Even God understood that those poor dears can't be left alone for a minute without getting themselves lost or into trouble. Basically God created man as verson 1.0 and after she finished laughing her butt off and working the bugs out of the program, she created woman.
2006-06-20 02:22:28
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answer #3
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answered by laradawn 2
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The litosphere is made of the crust (the tetonic plates) and the mantle.
Boys aren't stupid for the most part, anymore than girls are. Additionally, its kind of sexist for you to assume that only boys can have long hair, and that all boys are stupid. Einstein was a boy, you know.
2006-06-19 04:32:51
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answer #4
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answered by Madama Butterfly 4
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I'm assuming the litosphere is made of oxygen.
Boys are stupid because they have short term memories and think with their penises.
2006-06-19 04:30:11
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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I'm guessing you meant to say Lithosphere. It's made up of the crust and mantle of the Earth (or other planet).
Boys in general are not stupid, but the boy that made you ask that question probably is.
Check out the links below for more info on lithosphere.
2006-06-19 04:31:30
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answer #6
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answered by Me 4
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Boys are stupid because of a break in the lithosphere (a thin layer of dense rock containing hundreds of various minerals, all made from oxygen, silicon, iron, aluminum, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium) causing harmful core fumes to hit them, thus frying all brain cells and making them into sex hungering mongrels. It doesn't effect girls because the fumes are frightened of being yelled at by someone with PMS.
2006-06-19 04:34:26
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answer #7
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answered by Belie 7
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Pot, meet kettle.
It's rather ironic to call an entire sex stupid when you can't even spell the main keywords of your question correctly (they are "lithosphere" and "asthenosphere"). I'm not sure, but maybe you meant "atmosphere", which would then be completely incorrect.
Normally, I wouldn't nitpick minor spelling mistakes, but when you start with such a belligerent premise, you get what you've got coming.
2006-06-19 12:05:55
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answer #8
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answered by Flyboy 6
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The lithosphere is made of violets and juniper berries, and boys are stupid because of the puppy dogs tails, it totally clashes with the slugs and snails.
2006-06-19 04:32:06
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answer #9
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answered by corpuscollossus 3
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the lithosphere is just gravity comressing air and elements around the planet, and (most) boys arent stupid, they just act that way to attract attention to themselves for women
2006-06-19 04:31:50
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answer #10
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answered by SgtElkins222 3
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