Term

plate tectonics

The scientific theory that the Earth's surface is made of huge moving plates. It explains earthquakes, volcanoes and the shape of coastlines.

This Idea Must Die: Scientific Theories That Are Blocking Progress, John Brockman (editor)

Explained in

• This Idea Must Die: Scientific Theories That Are Blocking Progress, John Brockman (editor)
• A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson

  The accepted theory that the Earth's outer shell is broken into plates that slowly move relative to one another.

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