“Rotation of the Earth’s crust “
How does the surface of a sphere rotate? Should this say “rotation of the [whatever] plate?”
how does the earths surface rotate faster then the inside?
In frictionless space, you would think the whole thing would rotate at the same speed.
But my newest theory is that the earths crust moves back and forth like a swinging door, in relation to the center.
This would account for the changing magnetic poles.
IT would also account for some massive extinctions, since at the peak of each swing, the rotation stops, leaving no magnetic field to protect the planet from the solar wind.
Parts of larger plates move, spread and, in this case, change their orientation in relationship to other portions of their plates. They will collide and split apart according to stress and strain as defined in geology. Structural geology is the study of these movements.
There are 5 main concepts with which students struggle when thinking about stress and strain:
1. rocks deform,
2. stress causes strain and strain results in structures,
3. different physical conditions create different structures,
4. inferring stress from faults, and
5. the relationship between analogs and reality.
In this case the stress inferred from the strain and structure of the faulting indicate a “swirling” structure of rotation within the crust. Plates are not entirely independent of each other so a rotation within one plate impacts others. It may be expressed by different rates of subduction along a single plate edge. Thus, there might be a rotation of a plate or portion of a plate.