Is the planet Earth imploding?

Question

With the continuous earthquakes shifting the tectonic plates closer and closer, will the earth implode and speed up at the same time creating a kind of super nova?

Answer 1

You question is akin to asking if you have lung cancer because of facial acne. The crust is such an insignificant part of the Earth. As for the Earth "creating a kind of super nova?" Only massive red giants supernova, not yellow dwarfs (like our sun) and certainly not planets. The Earth has been experiencing earthquakes all of its existence, and there is no evidence that it will suddenly implode. Then again, maybe in 2012...

Answer 2

A supernova? Whoa, back up a minute. Even though the plates are moving closer, they are also being replenished. The earth will never just collapse in on itself. Not unless the core empties and an incredible vacuum forms in the vacant core collapsing the earth in on itself. The plates are moving, and have been doing so for billions of years. If the earth hasn't collapsed in now, I doubt it will. What's more, a supernova is something only a star can achieve. The power potential that earth has is a speck compared to what any given star has. The only way that the earth could speed up, would be if something made it spin faster. Nothing that has happened yet has done so. And again, I doubt it ever will.

Answer 3

In 1908, there was an impact event in Tunguska (think: siberia).

The energy involved was roughly 20 megatons. Different scientists have run the numbers, and found it to be a stony asteroid, perhaps 60 meters in diameter, 90 to 190 meters in diameter, or perhaps 1200 meters in diameter.

When you get such varying numbers, it's not science, it's guesswork. It all depends on the density of the meteorite.

But what if the meteorite was a quantum black hole, traveling slowly. It would be passing through the center of the earth, "eating" the molten core. As the core shrinks, we would have a lot of earthquakes.

We've noticed that the magnetic pole is shifting. That could be due to a black hole eating away our planet's innards. Conceivably, the planet could implode - but the human race would be gone from the surface of the planet for a geologically LONG time before that happens.

A supernova? No. That's sorta like expecting a *photograph* of a kitchen match to turn into an acetylene torch. It ain't gonna happen.

And I don't expect Earth to implode either - but at least, that one is theoretically *possible*.

Answer 4

No it isn't imploding and won't in the future. Planets don't do that, but they do, in our case, move around quite a bit. We, and that is the whole planet, are all on huge boats of rock in a sea of hot plastic submerged rock. We sail around slowly, sometimes sliding over or under the other boats of rock (tectonic plates). This is what makes our planet alive. Without all that we would slowly die. We need the constant renewal and recycling of our world. So, not to worry if the "seas" become a bit rough. It's just the stormy mantle of stone below us, making mountains and cleaning up some old continents.

Answer 5

For one thing, not all tectonic plates are moving closer -- some are drifting apart. And where they are drifting apart, there is new crust being formed from the magma beneath. And where they are moving together, some crust material is subducted back into the mantle, to return to the magma and keep the balance.

And only stars have the energy required to form a supernova.

Answer 6

Hopefully not... o.o