Why don t the Earth s peaks exceed 20,000 meters?

According to the geological composition of Mount Everest, scientists believe that Mount Everest was once 12,000 meters above sea level, and later collapsed because of ** or self-weight, and even then there was no 20,000-meter peak on the earth, mainly because of the earth's material properties and gravity.

The rocky celestial bodies of the solar system are all spherical structures, which can be seen from the gravitational formula, gravitational force is related to the mass and distance of the objects that interact with each other, so the tendency of gravity is to make matter move in the direction of a shorter distance (greater gravitational force), so the celestial bodies are all spherical structures, and the shape of the earth is quite regular, but due to the relationship of rotation, the equatorial radius is dozens of kilometers more than the meridian radius, but the overall is still quite round sphere.

The gravitational force of the earth is larger than that of other rocky planets in the solar system, and the mass is larger, so the gravitational effect is also stronger, the higher the weight of the mountain, the greater the weight, and the farther away from the gravitational center of the earth, the pressure on the rock layer at the bottom of the mountain is very huge, and the gravitational effect gathers the material, if the mountain peak continues to increase, one day the rock at the bottom can not withstand the pressure and breaks, followed by the collapse of the mountain, no matter how it is calculated, the absolute height of the earth has not been found to exceed, Not even Maunakea on the Hawaiian coast, which is mostly underwater, with an elevation difference of 10,203 meters from the summit to the base, well under 20,000 meters.

Correspondingly, on Mars and the Moon, because the gravitational pull is smaller, even if the composition of the rocks is similar to that on Earth, there can theoretically be higher peaks on both Mars and Moon than on Earth, and this is exactly what happened. The highest peak of the Moon is the main peak of a mountain range in Leibniz, the highest point is 9,000 meters, only a few hundred meters higher than Mount Everest, but there can theoretically be higher mountains on the Moon, after all, the gravitational pull of the Moon is only 1 6 of the Earth.

The highest peak of the solar system is on Mars, and the mass and gravity of Mars are much greater than that of the moon, but there is an Olympus Mountain, which is 21,171 meters above the Martian datum, and the height difference from the top of the mountain to the foot of the mountain is kilometers, which is more than 1 times the height of the Maunakea volcano on Earth. And there are 4 more peaks of Mars above 5. This may also be due to the fact that Mars does not have violent geological activity, and the peak does not cause the mountain to collapse due to the unstable center of gravity.

There has never been a peak of more than 20,000 meters on the earth, because the earth's material composition, gravity, and geological activities are not conducive to such a high peak. However, Mount Everest is also increasing at a rate of 0.10 tenths of a millimeter per year, and perhaps in a few years it will be able to break through 10,000 meters again, and then enter the next round of collapse and reconstruction.

What limits the height of the earth's peaks, and why is there no mountain that exceeds 10,000 meters?

Because of the presence of the gravitational pull of the earth. And the strength of the stone is limited, if the height of the mountain peak is too high, the bottom of the stone will collapse because it can't withstand its own pressure, so it will not exceed 20,000 meters, only on the planet with smaller gravity, it is possible to exceed 20,000 meters.

If the mountain exceeds 20,000 meters, it will be attacked by atmospheric pressure. So it will collapse immediately.

If the altitude is too high, the climate will be very harsh, and those things will easily be weathered by the climate and blown away as powder.

Because just like a house, it needs a foundation, the higher the house, the more stable the foundation, and the bottom of the 20,000-meter-high mountain peak needs to have an extremely hard rock bottom, which is basically none.

Currently, the highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest, with a total height of about 8,884 meters. In other words, there are no peaks on Earth, and its height can reach 10,000 meters. Many friends may wonder why the height of the earth's peaks does not exceed 10,000 meters.

Relevant scientists have found that the main reason why there are no peaks above 10,000 meters on the earth is because the hardness of the earth's rocks has a certain bearing capacity. In other words, according to the research of relevant scientists, the hardness of rocks on Earth cannot withstand the peaks of more than 10,000 meters for the time being.

There are actually two explanations for the 20,000-meter limit altitude. The first explanation is that if the height of the mountain increases, the weight of the mountain becomes heavier and heavier. Then the pressure on the earth will be greater from the peaks.

If the limit is exceeded, the rock structure under the peak will not be able to withstand it, eventually leading to collapse. The second explanation is that the mountain summit petrified over time. If the weight of weathered rocks and the amount of salt added by crustal movement reach a critical value, the earth will be crushed.

The ultimate height of the peak, calculated using this method, is actually 20,000 meters.

Due to the different geographical conditions in different parts of the world, a wide variety of mountain peaks have been formed. And each mountain peak has its own unique reasons for formation and unique characteristics. Some peaks look tall, some look short, some look steep and straight, and some look slow.

It is precisely because of these mountains and peaks of various shapes that the great rivers and mountains of the motherland have been formed, and various scenic spots of the motherland have been formed. Of course, this is also because on Earth, if it is on Mars, the ultimate height of the mountain peak is not 20,000 meters.

After all, five peaks over 20,000 meters have now been discovered on Mars. And, because Mars is much less massive and has less gravity than Earth, it is more important to withstand it. However, in people's consciousness, we all know that the highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest.

Although Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world, its height has not yet reached 10,000 meters, and its height is only 8,884 meters. But there are no peaks on Earth above 10,000 meters above sea level, mainly because of the limited carrying capacity of rocks on Earth. In addition, the formation of the mountain peaks itself requires a certain amount of weathering and erosion to form.

Some of the existing geographical conditions on the planet speculate that it is still difficult to form peaks at an altitude of 10,000 meters.

Because the higher the mountain, the heavier its own mass, and the greater the pressure on the lower layer, after reaching a certain level, the underlying rock structure can not support, so the limit height will not exceed 10,000 meters.

Because the higher the height, the greater the weight of the mountain, which cannot be supported, generally 10,000 meters is the highest limit, so it will not be exceeded.

Because the higher the mountain, the heavier the moral character, and the greater the pressure on the lower layer, after reaching a certain level, the underlying rock structure can not be supported, so the limit height will not exceed 10,000 meters.

To put it simply, the height of the Earth's mountains is related to the size of the Earth's mass.

Pictured: Mount Everest.

There are 14 peaks on Earth that are more than 8,000 meters tall. The highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest, with an altitude of meters. There is another mountain on earth that is actually more than 10,000 meters high, and this is the Mauna Kea Volcano in Hawaii.

The volcano is 4,205 meters above sea level, but its base is 5,998 meters below sea level, so it can reach a height of 10,203 meters from the bottom of the mountain. But neither Mount Everest nor Mauna Kaia are more than 15,000 meters high, let alone 20,000 meters.

However, on another planet in the solar system, the altitude is more than 10,000 meters. This is Mars. There are five peaks on Mars with a height of more than 10,000 meters.

The highest mountain on Mars, Mount Olympus, is 21,229 meters high, which is nearly 3 times the height of Mount Everest on Earth!

Pictured: Mount Olympus on Mars.

Why isn't there such a high mountain on Mars on Earth? I think the crux of the matter lies in the mass of these two planets. The mass of the Earth is kilograms.

The mass of Mars is kilograms. The mass of the Earth is much larger than that of Mars, almost 10 times that of Mars. Therefore, at the same height, the peaks on Earth are subject to greater gravity than the peaks on Mars, and are more likely to be crushed by their own gravity.

There is evidence that Mount Everest once reached a height of more than 12,000 meters, but later collapsed due to ** or its own weight. Mount Everest is still getting taller, basically 7 centimeters every 100 years. But it won't be more than 20,000 meters, and before that it will be crushed by its own weight.

The mass of Mars is smaller than that of Earth, so volcanoes on Mars can accumulate more than 20,000 meters without being crushed.

In fact, we can get some inspiration from the definition of planets by scientists. One of the things is that the mass of the planet must be large enough to overcome the gravitational pull of the solid to reach a hydrostatic equilibrium shape (i.e., the shape of a sphere). Therefore, the greater the mass of the planet, the more round the planet, the less undulating the surface, and the less likely it is to produce tall peaks.

Do you think that's the case?

The seven continents of the world (Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Antarctica, Africa, OceaniaDue to the different topography, geology and climate, different forms of continents have been formed, and because of the different geographical structures of each continent, different types of highest peaks have been created. So which is the highest peak on the seven continents of the world?

Asia

The most obvious factor is the gravitational factor, which is the gravitational force that exists on the earth. Generally speaking, the smaller the gravity, the higher the mountain will be able to grow. In the case of the same rock composition, if your gravity is greater, when the mountain grows to a certain height, it will not grow long, because if it is too high, it will crush itself.

It can be said that gravity and mountain height are inversely proportional, and if gravity can be reduced by half, the mountain height can be doubled. Once the limit height is exceeded, the upper layer of rock will continue to descend like mud as if it were "melting", and this process will continue until the entire mountain is stable.

Gravitational pull on Earth is ubiquitous and exists between various substances, and mountain peaks are no exception. In other words, when the material accumulates to a certain extent, the excess mountain will naturally shatter under the action of gravity. Mount Everest is a typical example, its height has long exceeded 10,000 meters, but because it is located in the Mediterranean-Himalayan volcanic belt, once it happens, it will cause a huge avalanche, and the height of the mountain will naturally drop.

Now Mount Everest is growing every year, but it will not exceed 10,000 meters, because before that it will be crushed by its own weight. The difference is that there is no tectonic plate movement on Mars, and the geological plates of the Earth are not as stable as Mars.

On Earth, the gaps created by plate tectonics are constantly moving and changing, and the plates are constantly colliding with each other, and the plates bend and fold to form mountains. Most continental mountains are related to plate movements, while there is no plate movement on Mars, and there will be no natural disasters such as **, the earth's crust is extremely stable, and the geological activity is far less intense than that of the earth. This means that the magma on Mars can be ejected consistently and steadily.

Lava is also more likely to accumulate on top of itself, creating a larger volcano than Earth.

The formation of volcanoes has a lot to do with the viscosity of magma, the viscosity of magma on Mars is higher than that on Earth, because magma on Earth is exposed to air, so it is mixed with a certain amount of oxygen, so the viscosity of lava will decrease, while there is more sulfur dioxide in volcanoes, magma viscosity is large, and the slope of the mountain is greater, so it can be higher.

We also know that there are many peaks in the world, and the heights of these peaks are also different.

The highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest, which is about as tall as it is and is growing every year.

The height of Mount Everest does not exceed 10,000m, so do you know why there are no peaks on earth that exceed 10,000m? What is this for?

What is the limit to the height of these peaks?

In fact, on other planets, the height of mountain peaks is more than 10,000 meters, for example, on Mars, there are peaks that exceed 10,000 meters in height, and the highest mountain in the solar system is as high as 22 kilometers.

The tallest mountain in the solar system is about three times taller than Mount Everest, and we are already so shocked when we see Mount Everest, and if we see the highest mountain in the solar system, it may feel even more spectacular.

There are four special fundamental forces in the universe, which are the weak nuclear force, the strong nuclear force, the gravitational force and the electromagnetic force, which maintain the basic operation of the celestial bodies in the universe.

There is a proportional relationship between the height of the mountain peak on each celestial body and the gravitational attraction on the celestial body, and if the gravitational pull of the celestial body is greater, then the mountain peak may be subjected to greater gravitational attraction.

Among the planets in the solar system that have a time delay, the earth is the largest in both mass and volume, so the earth has the largest gravitational force, so the peaks on the earth are also restricted by these gravitational forces.

Scientists have found that in ancient times, there were still peaks of more than 10,000 meters on the earth, but as time went by, the peaks were weakened a lot by strong gravity, so the height slowly became what it is now.

However, because the earth's tectonic plates are constantly moving, the height of Mount Everest is also increasing at a certain rate.