Critical analysis of the article by S.V. Mishin, A.A. Panfilov, and I.M. Khasanov «Earth’s gravity is the cause of earthquakes»

Abstract

In the Geophysical Journal [Mishin et al., 2019] of 2019, an article by authors S.V. Mishin, A.A. Panfilov, and I.M. Khasanov was published. It made yet another attempt to describe seismic processes by means of classical mechanics through the dynamic parameters of earthquakes — energy and momentum. A model of the earthquake process was considered, including the effect of the planet’s gravity on the mass distribution of geological bodies, which make up the Earth’s crust. According to the authors, it is the loss of stability of masses during their distribution in the process of the impact of gravity forces on the rocks of the crust that does not stop for a second and is the cause of earthquakes: «Differences in the density of equal volumes of is stasis crust material leads to the destruction of the reference plane of such structures. As a result of this process, part of the rocks shifts down wards, acquiring mechanical impulse during braking. It is this pulse that determines the magnitude of the earthquake». This article is a continuation of Mr. Mishin’s work on the popularization of his hypothesis of the model of the origin of earthquakes — an impact when moving a large block of rocks during the destruction of a support [Mishin, 2013]. Let’s try to show the inconsistency of the hypothesis using the simplest examples. In conclusion, we present our version of the mechanism of the formation of earthquake energy by an electromagnetic field created by a simple charge.