Excess Mass Stress (E.M.S.) is the proposed driving force of geodynamic phenomena It is the force exerted by Excess Mass (E.M.), that is bulk matter generated at the mantle - core boundary. Excess Mass is the product of transformation of elementary particles into bulk matter, through electromagnetic confinement, laser clustering and controlled nuclear fusions. The duration and the intensity of the process depends on the relative abundance of electrons, as compared to nucleons, and on the existence of a small number of protons that are recycled in the proton cycle. The primordial Earth had a size about 75% the present size of its core. There [are] about 3.6x10⁵¹ nucleons, most of them as ²H nuclei, a small number of free protons and about 10⁵³ electrons were trapped. Up to now about two thirds of the original number of hydrogen nuclei have been transformed, in two phases (4 000-200 and 200-0 m.y. ago), into crust and mantle bulk matter, while the rest remains to be transformed.

The Core of the Earth is considered as an electrically unbalanced real gas of particles subject to the exclusion principle. As a result of that its degeneracy pressure, due to electrons, should be greater than its gravitational pressure, due to nucleons. The degeneracy pressure is reduced by the clustering behavior of bosons and of pairs of fermions. Therefore during periods of intensified clustering, i.e., orogenic episodes, the degeneracy pressure is reduced and the Earth tends to contract. The net result of the electrical unbalance will be the pulsation of the Earth (expansion-contraction), which is superimposed on its expansion due to E.M. generation.

The approach is qualitative but with quantitative constraints; it is based on current knowledge and on reliable observational and experimental data but, at the same time, it is not confirmed by existing theories and interpretations.

Taking the most favorable for convection conditions, that is large size of cells, ~2800 km deep and ~150 km long [1=2Ö2d (Bott 1982)], low viscosity of the boundary zone, of the order of h=5x10²⁰ poises (5x10¹⁹ Pa.s), high velocity of the convecting mantle of ~l9 cm/yr, about 270 cells for the whole Earth are required. If the thickness of the cell layer is 75 km and each cell is 40 000 km wide, the volume of a cell is ~1.3x10¹⁹ m³. For the whole Earth 3.5xl0²¹ m³ should be recycled every year that is four times the volume of the mantle!

With a strain rate of the order of e = 6x10^-14 s^-1, the viscous energy dissipation per unit volume, that is the energy required to overcome the friction of the surrounding material, is he²/2 = 90x10^-9 Wm^-3. For the whole earth the energy required is about 3.1x10¹⁴ W, that is one order of magnitude greater than the heat energy supplied by the Earth's interior.

Furthermore, one main presupposition for adiabatic change, and therefore for convection, is the lack of shear stress between the plates and the convecting mantle. In other words, the more efficient convection is, the less efficient the mantle drag and the movement of plates will be. Considering that the relaxation time for ductile deformation inside the Earth is of the order of 10¹² to 10¹⁴ sec, and the rigidity is of the order of 10¹¹ to 10¹² dyn/cm², the viscosity has to be of the order of 10²³ to 10²⁶ poises. Flow velocity, of the order of few to some centimetres per year, requires a relaxation time of the order of 10⁷ - 10⁶ sec. In that case the viscosity should be of the order of 10¹⁸ - l0¹⁷ poises, and even lower. For a boundary layer with thickness of the order of meters, the Kinematic viscosity should be of the order of 10¹³ - 10¹² m²s^-1. The viscosity of bulk material inside the Earth is much greater than that.

The relaxation time can be reduced either by lowering viscosity or by increasing rigidity. Since viscosity can not be lower than about 10¹⁹ poises, deformation rates of the order of 10⁷ sec, and lower, can only be achieved if the rigidity is momentarily increased to values of 10¹³ and probably as high as l0²⁰ dyn/cm². This can be done if the intensity of the applied-stress is increased and/or the duration of its action is decreased. High confining pressure increases ductility and decreases rigidity, and its effect is similar to the effect of increased temperature. In other words the stress necessary to produce ductile strain can be reduced as a result of increased pressure.

Mantle convection restricted above 600-700 km depth has a theoretical efficiency of less than 10% and a very small adiabatic gradient, of the order of 0.2 K km^-1. Therefore it can not supply the energy required to drive the plates since the required theoretical efficiency is at least 25%. Bott (1982), mentions: "The most decisive argument against the viability of classical convection mechanism comes from the calculation of the strain energy dissipation within the low viscosity channel ... This seems to be quite unacceptable on thermodynamic grounds, even if the viscosity distribution differs from our assumptions. Thus the answer to the question - are the plates driven by mantle drag? - is probably not."

Associated with convection in the upper 700 km of the mantle with much lower mantle velocities, is the mechanism of negative buoyancy. If negative buoyancy is responsible for subduction, complete decoupling is necessary between the 100 km thick plate and the underlying mantle. In other words the "ridge push - positive buoyancy" and the "trench pull - negative buoyancy must exceed friction between the plate and the mantle and the strength of the underlying mantle. With a viscosity of the order of 10²¹ poises and an average spreading rate of about 6 cm/yr, the strain rate is of the order of e = 2x10^-12 S^-1 and the viscous energy dissipation per unit volume is E = he²/2 = 2x10^-4 Wm^-3. For the decoupling of a world wide ocean layer 100 km thick, the energy required is of the order of 7x10¹⁵ W. That is more than two orders of magnitude greater than the heat loss of the Earth. On the other hand, penetration is only possible if the rigidity, the strength and the viscosity of the mantle are several orders of magnitude smaller than the ones estimated.

The pressure of the overburden, at the depth of 20 km; is about 5.5x10⁸ Pa, while the rigidity and the incompressibility modulus, at the same depth, is ~5.6x10¹⁰ Pa  and ~13x10¹⁰ Pa, respectively. How can a less than 2% density increase, due to cooling, i.e., the density of 3 gr/cm3 to some 3.05 gr/cm³, and the pressure of 0.55 GPa to become 0.56 GPa, be sufficient for the overlying slab to penetrate into the underlying material that can withstand pressures l0,000% to 20,000% greater? The same is true for the asthenosphere where the rigidity and the incompressibility are one to two orders of magnitude greater than the overburden pressure.

In other words the thermal energy required to overcome internal friction is one to two orders of magnitude greater than the ~3x10¹³ W that is available. If such thermal energies were supplied the temperatures at the core - mantle boundary should be from 12,000 to 120,000 ^oC, the adiabatic thermal gradient from 5 to 50 K km^-1 and the theoretical efficiency of the order of 90% and 99%, respectively! At such temperatures the whole mantle will be a melt since its estimated melting temperature does not exceed 5,000 ^oC.

Such a case is out of agreement with reality. At 1200 km depth, in the mantle, V_p = ~11.8 km/sec, V_s = ~ 6.5 km/sec, density (r) = ~ 4.7 gr/cm³, pressure (P) = ~ 48 GPa, rigidity (m) = ~200 GPa, incompressibility (b) = ~ 400 GPa, Q_p = ~5000, and Q_s = ~2000 (Bolt I982). In other words rigidity is very high, the highest is in the Earth's interior, attenuation is very low, second only to that of the outer core. The implication is clear. The material is solid and it's temperature well below it's melting point. Otherwise, the rigidity and the Q factors would have to be much lower.

Another major failure of the ridge push-trench pull mechanism, which is adapted by the majority of plate tectonics advocates is the stress field it requires. Compression in ridges, tension in the subducting slab. Exactly the opposite to that which is observed.

Radioactive decay by no means can provide the heat energy required for convection. Almost all radioactive elements concentrate in the upper few kilometers of the continental crust, far away from the location where convection supposedly takes place. These concentrations are extremely small, and of the order of 80 ppb. In the Moon the concentration of radioactive elements is more than three times greater. Following the reasoning that convection is caused by radioactive decay, the Moon should be a highly convecting planet instead of a non convecting one, as is observed.

Finally, primordial heat can not be the energy source either. The highly speculative hypothesis is that gravitational energy, liberated from the sinking of vast drops of iron, was trapped in the core in long-lived radioactive isotopes about 4.6 billion years ago. This is estimated to be about 6x10²² W (Press and Siever, 1978). With the present rate of heat loss, that amount can only last for about 2 billion years. This is a very conservative estimate because the rate of heat loss in the heat-engine of Earth, during its early stages, was certainly much higher. If the heat energy requirements for convection are one to two orders of magnitude greater, this primordial energy can only last from 200 to 20 million years!

In heat driven bodily transfer of viscous material, only three of the four steps of a heat engine cycle can materialize. Thermal expansion, adiabatic expansion and thermal contraction. Adiabatic contraction, which closes the cycle can happen, but in practice, only for very few particles if the material is an ideal fluid (inviscid or very low viscosity), i.e., water, where friction is non-existent to negligible.  In very viscous or solid materials, as with the interior of the Earth, the process is not cyclic but unidirectional. That is because the non conservative, time dependent force of friction is involved. In thermal convection, the higher the viscosity, the higher the temperature difference needed before convection starts, the higher the thickness of the boundary layer, the smaller the Reynolds number, the higher the Rayleigh number, the higher the instability and time dependence of motion (Acheson I990); that is, the higher the irreversibility of motion.

Attenuation can be the result of "cold", pressure gradient flow. High Q implies either the absence of flow or very thin flow, "invisible" to seismic waves; that is, material with low viscosity - high Reynolds number (Re>>1). The low Q could be the result of the combined effect, primarily of bulk flow and secondarily, of temperature that further reduces resistance to ductile strain. The temperature throughout the whole mantle should be well below the melting point, as is implied by the increase with depth of seismic wave velocities and the Q factor. In heat-engine-Earth, the temperature of the mantle is thought to be close to melting point and its Re very low (~10^-19) implying a very thick (~75 km) boundary layer (Bott 1982). This, combined with the estimated increase of seismic wave frequency with depth, would have resulted in a decrease in Q.

If heat flow is due to conduction of radiation, to hydrothermal activity and to radioactive decay, the temperature at greater depths should be much lower. It has been found that in modem island arcs the potassium content of andesitic rocks increases as the depth of the Benioff zone increases. Plate tectonic theory explains the increase in K content with the  subduction and the partial melting of basalt due to temperature increase with depth (Sawkins et.al., 1978). We attribute it to temperature decrease.  About l % K₂O Content corresponds to a temperature of ~1000 ^oC and to a depth of ~100 km,  and the value of ~3% to a temperature of ~800 ^oC  and to depth of 200-300 km. In other words, the K₂O  content of rocks indicates the depth, the composition and the temperature of the mantle below it and not the properties of some down-going lithospheric slab.

According to Press and Siever (1978) the heat flow in active ocean ridges is ~3 HFU; within geologically young and active areas i.e., the Alpine belt, ~2 HFU,  in the ocean basins ~ 1.3 HFU, in geologically old inactive areas ~1 HFU, in the ocean trenches < l HFU,  and in the Sierra Nevada ~0.4 HFU. The case of Sierra Nevada is very interesting since it is at the flank of the Yellowstone volcanic hotspot which belongs to the Basin and Range Province, which is  associated with a 53 m high, and ~1600 km in diameter, geoid anomaly (Hunt et. al 1992).

The positive free-air gravity anomaly indicates general uplift of north-western USA. Heat flow is high in places where recently rising E.M. is very close to the surface i.e., Old Faithful. Geologically young E.M. is not present under the Sierra Nevada, and because of this, the observed heat flow is low. Thick old crust and/or low concentrations of radioactive materials present and/or water, can result to even lower heat flows.

Within the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, it has been found that the heat flow of a lithospheric slab ~100 km thick, reaches the average value of ~l.5 HFU in ~50  m.y., at a distance ~200 km from the oceanic ridge (Anderson et.al. 1977, Parsons and Sclater 1977, Press and Siever 1978; Bott l982). About one third of the heat flow in oceanic ridges is attributed to hydrothermal activity. Then the heat flow in oceanic ridges, which can be attributed to conduction is ~2.0 HFU. In ocean basins, the average value is ~1.0 HFU. That value corresponds to a distance from the ridge of ~200km, and a depth of  ~100 km and an age of ~50 m.y. The 2:1 ratio between the horizontal and vertical axis is the result of gravitational sliding of the upper most mantle. We argue that the source of this heat is electromagnetic radiation from the Earth's interior.  The ratio of, 1 HFU to 1000 ^oC, to 200 km distance from the spreading ridge, to 100 km depth, to 50 m.y. age, is proposed as a rule.

Table 1. Mean Heat Flow values, due to conduction, as a function of Temperature, Distance from ridge, Depth below ridge, and Age of oceanic crust. For the computations the following formulae have been used:

Heat Flow - Temperature,  HFUq = (1100⁰C)(e^{1/q a}),
q = temperature,⁰C, a = -0.000144.

Heat Flow - Distance from ridge,  HFU_d = (2.0HFU)(e^db),
d = distance, km b = -0.00347.
 

Temperature - Depth below ridge,  T_{D =} (1100⁰C)(e^Dc),
T = temperature, ⁰C, D = depth, km, c = -0.00103.
 

Heat Flow - Age from ridge,  HFU_A = (2.0 HFU)(e^Ad),
A = age, m.y. ago, d = -0.0139.

Table 1. shows our proposal for the relationship between heat flow values, temperature, distance from the ocean ridge, depth below ridge, and age of oceanic crust. The implication here is that heat is mainly radiant [not conductive] since at temperatures above 750 K (~480^oC) the contribution of lattice vibration [conduction] to thermal conductivity gradually diminishes (Bott, 1982). Wavelengths that correspond to infrared radiation are from 10^-6m to 10^-3m. We propose that such wavelengths are attainable only in the upper few hundred kilometers of the Earth's interior. Below this depth, due to denser packing, radiation with shorter wavelengths and freqencies-energies dominate. The ability of atoms to vibrate is limited to non-existent and therefore temperatures should be well below 500 ^oC.

As we go back in time, due to the lack of iron and also lower temperatures, the composition of the surface rocks should be more felsic. This seems to be the case since in old cratonic areas the rocks are granitic in composition. Considering that felsic magmas solidify at ~ 600 ^oC, and according to our estimate the [core] surface temperature 1 b.y. ago was ~500 ^oC, and taking into account expansion decompressional effects, the current temperature of the mantle-core boundary should be lower than 500 ^oC. It may be close to the estimated accretion temperature of ~400 K (Bott 1982), or our prediction of ~100 ^oC. If this is happening crystalline ferromagnetic minerals, if present, will be strongly magnetized since their Curie temperature is between 500 and 700 ^oC.

It is estimated that 30 - 40% of the continental heat flow is due to radioactive decay, while in oceanic areas this is less than 7% (Bott 1982). If that estimation is correct, the average heat flow in continental areas should not be lower than 0.5 - 0.6 HFU, no matter how old the crust is. Of course local variations in the concentration of radioactive elements can increase or decrease this heat flow. Similarly, but mainly due to hydrothermal activity, heat flow is kept well above zero in oceanic areas.

At the early stages of the Earth's history the overburden was very thin and iron was not abundant. The surface rocks that could form at that time were felsic in composition with low melting temperatures for these rocks. Later, as the iron content and the temperature of lavas in contact with the surface granitic rocks increased, melting and metamorphism started to occur. This resulted in the formation of greenstone belts which resemble the composition of rocks found in modern island arc systems. In both cases, the properties of the surface rocks are a result of, and reflect the properties of, the mantle below them. That implies a lack of decoupling and gross horizontal displacement of the overlying layers of rock.

Excess Mass (E.M.) and
Excess Mass Stress (E.M.S.)

It is proposed that E.M. is added concentrically at the mantle-core interface and ascends to the surface through zones of weakness within the mantle. In the beginning of this process, the ascending E.M. produces doming, then rifting, and finally the formation of an oceanic ridge and eventually an ocean basin if the cycle progresses fully. Each cycle is an orogenic episode and is associated with direct manifestations of E.M., i.e., granites, andesites and ophiolites. Likewise, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks can be considered as indirect manifestations of E.M.

Fault plane solutions of earthquakes at mid-ocean ridges, within island arcs, and orogenic belts, implies global extension. This is expressed by doming, rifting, crustal thinning and subsidence through normal faulting developing a horst and/or graben pattern and finally by uplift through passive folding. At the flanks of the passive folding zone the ductile deformation changes into flexural-slip folding and brittle deformation of low angle thrust faulting (Stauder 1968, Kanamori 1977, Burchfiel et.al. 1982). The structure and the deformation mode of the central zone, (i.e., extension and normal faulting, and of the marginal zones, i.e., compression and thrust faulting), is more or less common within all deformation belts, i.e., western North and South America, the Indonesian arc, the Alpine-Himalayan mountain belt, the Pyrenees etc., and this is associated with positive free-air gravity anomalies. This is indicative of non-horizontal and non-collisional, but also vertical and accretionary characteristics of these orogenic deformations.

The fan like deposition of E.M. around these extensional ridges, produces gravitational compression at the oceanic-continental crust boundary. The center of rotation of the fan, is at the mantle-core boundary interface. The greater the "opening" of the fan, the greater the vertical component of compression. When that component reaches a critical angle, probably between 15^o and 30^o, a Benioff fracture zone begins to form. This is probably the reason for the presence of Benioff zones around the Pacific and for their absence within the Atlantic basin. Gravity is the minimum principal stress and the faulting produced is reverse. Once such a through-mantle zone of weakness is formed, E.M. will tend to rise through it toward the surface. In this case, oblique faulting, where none of the principal stresses are vertical, is superimposed upon the reverse faulting. This seems to be the case, particularly for depths between 100 and 700 km where the dip of the zone is up to 75^o (Isacks et.al. 1968, Sawkins et.al. 1978).

The ~1500 km wide and ~5000 km long belts of positive free-air gravity anomalies (in Burchfiel et.al. 1982) imply the presence of E.M. above the Benioff zones. The depth of ~700 km seems to be the maximum depth at which brittle, earthquake producing deformation can occur and the thickness of flow is greater than 10^-6 m. In the course of time, the convergence of "creeks" can coalesce to produce  even wider "rivers" of E.M., of the order of meters and of the order of kilometers in width at depths between 100 and 200 km. As the dimensions of flow increase, the velocity of E.M. decreases because the intensity of frictional forces is proportional to the thickness of the boundary layer, that is inversely proportional to the Reynolds number that is its viscosity.
 

[The colours used here attempt to display the occurrence of thermal wavelengths (Dark reddish continental crustal area--indicating heating from below) nearer to the surface, and shorter wavelengths further toward the mantle-core interface (violet) as per TASSOS's suggested particle density constraints upon thermal elemental vibration with increasing depth within the mantle and resulting dominance of short wavelength radiation at these depths and particle densities.  This entirely new view of the deep interior of Earth is based upon quantum mechanical forces rather than the more familiar thermal and gravitationally driven heat engine that geologists are more familiar with. TASSOS argues that due to particle packing densities at great depths within Earth, the strong and weak nuclear forces as well as short wavelength electromagnetic effects, overwhelmingly dominate deep internal processes as these forces are several orders of magnitude more powerful than the thermal and gravitational forces at these depths and high particle densities. The concentric and also intruding style of new mantle growth is also displayed within this figure, as well as the effects of global curvature adjustments to Earth's ongoing radius change through geological history. This figure has been re-drawn and colour enhanced by David Ford.]

Considering that the total length of spreading ridges is about 60,000 km (one and a half great circles), the orientation of the ridges are more or less normal to the equator, and that the average spreading (total) rate is about 11 cm/yr, the corresponding circumference increase is about (11 x ³/2 =) 16.5 cm/yr. When these values are applied they indicate a global rate of radius increase of about 2.6 cm/yr. This rate is in excellent agreement with the rate of 2.8 ± 0.8 cm/yr measured by NASA with the use of satellites and with several other calculations, i.e., 2.6 cm/yr and 2.4 cm/yr ((Parkinson, in Carey 1988, Ciechanowicz and Koziar 1993, Blinov 1983).

The Core of the Earth is considered as an electrically unbalanced real gas of particles subject to the exclusion principle. The number of its electrons is thought to be around two orders of magnitude greater than the number of protons in the core. Excess Mass, is bulk matter which is a product of transformation of simpler and smaller structural units into bigger and more complex ones through a process of controlled nuclear fusions. The protons, that is ²H nuclei, due to electromagnetic confinement, tunnel and condense into a coherent, friction free, and therefore "cold" super-conducting state. They then fuse with other ²H nuclei to produce ⁴He and other larger nuclei. For every 4 nucleons that combine to form a helium nucleus, 2 protons are recycled (Fishbane et.al. I993). Fusioning will reduce to zero as ²H units and electrons are exhausted.

Protons travelling with a speed of the order of 3x10⁷ m/sec, produce shockwave pressures of the order 10³⁰ Pa. This pressure energy is more than enough for fusioning to take place since the pressure required for this is only of the order of 10²⁶ Pa. If we take into consideration that the confining pressure at the mantle-core boundary is of the order of 10¹¹ Pa, it is clear that the driving force of E.M. is many orders of magnitude greater than the force available from gravity.

In the outer core, the number of electrons is assumed to be about 10⁵³, as compared to the about 10⁵¹ nucleons. This imbalance in favour of electrons, is reflected in the magnetic properties of the Earth. The Earth has a magnetic field with a surface flux density of about 0.5 Gauss. We know that the ultimate cause of magnetism is the existence of unpaired, or of pairs of unit spin electrons. Therefore the existence of pairs of high energy unit spin, free electrons, can produce strong magnetic fields. Other planets in our vicinity (Moon, Mars, Mercury), have very weak, or only remnant magnetism, or no observed magnetism at all. This is a indication that a present:

a) their core is not electromagnetically active,
b) no unpaired or pairs of unit spin electrons are present.

The present estimated average density of the core ~11 gr/cm³ (Bolt 1982), is deduced with a high degree of confidence. This density corresponds to a total of ~1.1x10⁵¹ nucleons and ~10⁵³ electrons. All electrons, and more than 90% of nucleons, are thought to be in the outer core, while within the inner core, about 0.6x l0⁵⁰ protons are present. Considering that the density solid hydrogen is ~6.7 gr/cm³ and solid helium ~13.4 gr/cm³, and that the average density of the outer core is ~10.8 gr/cm³, the present distribution of nucleons and electrons in the outer core should be: ~0.3x 10⁵⁰ present as free protons, ~5x l0⁵⁰ present as hydrogen, ~5x10⁵⁰ present in the form of helium, and ~10⁵³ electrons. The ~3.6x10⁵¹ nucleons were trapped within the primordial core which had an estimated radius of ~3170 km and corresponding density of ~45gr/cm³. For that number of nucleons, the number of electrons present could be as high as 10⁵³ with a total influence on density about 2%.

By measuring the length of arcs of observed magnetic anomalies at the periods of, 0 -10 - 50 -100 - 200 m.y. before present, we can estimate the paleo-circumference, and from this value, the radius, the paleo-volume, the paleo-density, and paleo-mass at 10, 50,100 and 200 m.y. ago. Table 2 shows the radius, the volume, the density, and the mass of the Earth for the last 200 m.y. The annual rate at which E.M. is being added today, can be calculated if we consider a spherical shell, ~2.6 cm thick, and a wedge of mass 60,000 km long and 11 cm wide, extending down to the core mantle boundary. That is ~ 6.45x10¹⁶ kg/yr, or ~3.86x 10⁴³ nucleons per year. This value is of the same order, but more than two times larger, than the 2.82x10¹⁶ kg/yr estimated by Ciechanowicz and Koziar (1994).

Table 2.  Estimated Radius, Volume, Density, Excess Mass, and Excess Mass Rate as a function of Time, for the last 200 m.y. of Earth’s evolution. For the calculations the following formulae have been used :

Radius : R_t = R₁ + R₂ e^rt dR/ dt = rR₂e^rt ,
R₁ = 3170 km, R₂ = 3200 km, r = -0.0081 m.y.^-1

E.M : E.M_t = M_mantlee^mt , M_mantle = 2.44´10⁵¹nucleons,
m = - 0.0158 m.y.^-1, d(E.M.)/ dt = mM_mantle e^mt

The condensation of ⁴He atoms-bosons into a coherent, friction free, "cold" state is the best explanation for the lack of transmission of S waves and for the extremely low dumping of P waves in the outer core. The lack of transmission of S waves, implies fluid, and the extremely low dumping, which represents a Q factor of the order of 10,000 (Bolt 1982), implies a superfluid, that is a friction free fluid. If the material was an iron melt, it's temperature would have to be above it's melting point; but then, due to bulk flow, observed attenuation should to be very high. This, along with the dielectric property of helium, can explain magnetic reversals, and the observed properties of seismic waves are strong evidence for the presence of large amounts of the superfluid helium within the outer core.

Two phases in the process of E.M. generation can be distinguished. The first was extremely slow and lasted from ~4000 m.y. ago to ~200 m.y. ago. During that period, only a small fraction, less than 3%, of the plasma was transformed into bulk matter. Its main characteristic is the low nuclear binding energy and/or the large size of atoms. Iron poor rocks that make up the old cratons of Earth, and also cover most of the surface of the Moon, Mars and Mercury, are rich in ²³Na, ³⁹K and ⁴⁰Ca atoms, the ionic radii of which are l, 1.4 and l Å, respectively--these were formed during this phase.

During the second phase that started ~200 m.y. ago and continues today, another 65% of particles present have been transformed into E.M. The high energies and high pressures of this phase, are responsible for the high nuclear binding energies and/or the small size of atoms, i.e., iron (8.8 MeV per nucleon - the highest binding energy, 0.6 - 0.7 Å radius). In this framework, the main criterion for the participation of an atom in a mineral structure is not its weight, but its size. Of course, it also depends on the relative availability and the chemical affinity of the atoms. For example, oxygen, although large in size (in its ionic state it has a radius of ~1.4 Å) occupies about 90% of the volume of the Earth and is more abundant in the crust, thus the greater concentration of Si in crustal rocks. The greater the overburden weight, the closer the atonic packing, and the smaller atoms must be to participate in highly ordered crystal structures. Large atoms, irrelevant of their weight, are preferentially expelled to the surface region. This is probably why large heavy atoms of ²³⁸U and ²³²Th are concentrated in the uppermost continental crust and are practically absent in oceanic crust. Surface rocks will tend to be felsic because of ionic size constraints, and mafic because of temperature constraints. Therefore, most granitic batholiths should not be the result of metamorphism, but from direct crystallization of large atoms at greater depth but also lower temperatures. (i.e. with increasing depth, temperature does not increase, it decreases, and some granitic batholiths are bought nearer to the surface by vertical movements.)

The degeneracy pressure, of the ~10⁵³ electrons, is of the order of 10¹⁷ Pa, while the gravitational pressure, of the ~3.6x l0⁵¹ nucleons present, is of the order 10¹² Pa. In the primordial Earth, the degeneracy pressure was about five orders of magnitude greater and laser formation was limited. Because of this the primordial Earth "blew-up", from the ~3200 km radius to ~3500 km radius. When ~200 m.y. ago; the overburden reached a thickness of ~320 km, a considerable reduction of the degeneracy pressure occurred due to the intensification of laser clustering, and a balance between these two pressures occurred. If the number of electrons relative to the number of nucleons exceeds a certain threshold value, the laser clustering can not reduce the degeneracy pressure to sufficient degree to make it equal to gravitational pressure.  The result would have produced explosive rupture of a primordial felsic crust into pieces that travel away as meteorite and asteroid sized objects.

If this sort of electrical imbalance is the universal rule, it means that at the universe is locally inhomogeneous and anisotropic, and its average isotropy and homogeneity is a result of its vastness, and not of its degradation. In that context, the temperature increase with time is a result of the upgrading process of matter transformation and red-shift could be an indication of but a stage in the evolution of a planetary body and not a result of the Doppler effect (see also Arp 1994).

During orogenic episodes, the degeneracy pressure could be reduced to values smaller than the gravitational pressure, due to intensification of laser clustering. The result will be contraction of the core and compression at the surface of the Earth. During inter-orogenic periods, laser clustering is decreased and the degeneracy pressure will tend to reach its original value. The net result will be expansion of the core and tension at the surface.

If this is happening, the Earth is expanding, as a result of E.M. generation and it is also pulsating as a result of the alternating imbalance between degeneracy pressure and gravitational pressure. One might suppose that at inter-orogenic periods, superimposed upon the Earth expansion due to E.M. generation, is additional expansion due to degeneracy pressure, in which case the global surface stress field would be strongly tensional. On the contrary, during orogenic episodes the normally estensional field is hampered by compressional processes. What stage is the Earth at within this cycle now? We are most likely in a phase between orogenic episodes.

The present mass of the Earth is 6x10²⁴ kg which corresponds to about 3.6x10⁵¹ nucleons, which were trapped about 4.6 billion years ago in the primordial core. Since then, the volume of the whole Earth has increased by more than eight times. The volume of its core, by about 33%, and around ²/3 of its particles have been transformed into bulk matter. This process is in conformity with the conservation of mass, in agreement with Gottfried (1990) and Hunt et. al. (1992). l would not be surprised though, if other processes are discovered involving the generation of "new matter" (Tassos 1994, 1997).

Nevertheless, I am convinced that:

1. The transformation, of simpler and smaller structural units into bigger and more complex ones, goes on today inside the Earth.

2. The interior of the Earth is unique when compared with that of other planets in our vicinity.

In summary, Excess Mass (E.M.) and Excess Mass Stress (E.M.S.), have the following characteristics :

• Excess Mass Stress (E.M.S.) is the force exerted by Excess Mass (E.M.) which is being added concentrically at the mantle-core boundary and ascends to the surface, through zones of weakness, i.e., mid-ocean ridges, Benioff zones etc.
• The direction of E.M.S. is normal to the surface. The result is compression inside the Earth, tension and gravitational compression on Earth's surface.
• The action of E.M.S. became more evident and its intensity increased exponentially during the last 200 m.y.
• The pressure required for fusion, and therefore the intensity of E.M.S., is of the order of 10²⁶ to 10²⁷ Pa. Immense, when compared to the 10¹¹ Pa of the overburden.
• When the degeneracy pressure of electrons exceeds the gravitational pressure of nucleons, the core tends to expand and the surface stress is tensional. Otherwise contraction of the core and compression on the surface will occur.
• If E.M.S. exceeds the weight of the overburden, and the strength of the surrounding material, flow or rupture will occur. The maximum depth at which brittle deformation, i.e., rupture, can take place is ~700 km.
• The stress field in Benioff zones is strongly compressional. At depths less than ~ 100 km, gravity is the intermediate to minimum principle stress. At greater depths, none of the principal stresses is vertical and faulting is oblique.
• E. M. is a product of the transformation of elementary particles into bulk matter.
• E.M. is the crust and the mantle and most of this (~65%) was generated during the last 200 m.y. A small fraction (~3%) transformed from 4000 to 200 m. y. ago under the continents as a layer ~350 km thick.
• Since its origin, the volume of the Earth has increased by more than eight, while the volume of the core has increased by ~33 %.
• The average density of E.M. is time and depth dependent and has generally increased by ~40%.
• The average density of the core is only time dependent and it has decreased, in 4.6 b.y., from ~ 45 gr/cm³ to its present ~10.7 gr/cm³.
• As the width of E.M. channels ("creeks") increase their velocity of flow decreases.
• The cosmological implications are that red-shift indicates a stage of evolution, and that the universe is inhomogeneous and anisotropic.

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