What exactly is elastic rebound theory?
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To understand elastic rebound theory, it’s helpful to think about a toy slinky. A slinky is a long, springy toy that you can stretch out and then let go. When you let go of the slinky, it will spring back to its original shape.
Now, imagine that the Earth is a little bit like a slinky. The ground on Earth is made up of big blocks of rock that are kind of like the coils of a slinky. These blocks of rock are held together by a lot of tension, kind of like when you stretch out a slinky.
Sometimes, the tension between these blocks of rock can get too strong. When that happens, the blocks of rock can snap back to their original shape, just like the slinky does when you let go of it. When the blocks of rock snap back, they can cause the ground to shake, which is what we feel as an earthquake.
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