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Whose work first explained earthquakes as elastic rebound?

Quick Answer

Harry Fielding Reid proposed the elastic rebound theory after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It explained how strain builds up and is suddenly released along faults.

The Full Story

American geophysicist Harry Fielding Reid studied the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and concluded that rocks on either side of a fault bend elastically as tectonic stress accumulates. When the rocks finally break and slip, the stored energy is released as seismic waves. Reid published the elastic rebound theory in 1910. It remains a fundamental explanation for many earthquakes today.

Key Facts

1.Reid published the theory in 1910
2.The model was based on the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
3.It explains stress buildup and sudden fault slip

YouTube Angle

Suggested video title for this topic:

"The idea that explained why earthquakes snap back"

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