ELI5: What makes earthquakes happen so suddenly?

Submitted by kingkornish t3_117m8yz in explainlikeimfive

So need help in my understanding here. My knowledge is earthquakes are caused by the tectonic plates rubbing together/pulling apart. And that the plates move very slowly.

If it is caused by slow and steady movement of the tectonic plates. What is it that is happening that causes all that energy to be released suddenly and causing an earthquake? Is it simply that part of the plate breaks causing alot of movement suddenly or is there something else in play?

Thanks

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Asleep-Ad5627 t1_j9cfnla wrote

Earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of energy that has been stored in the Earth's crust. This energy is built up over time as the tectonic plates move and interact with each other. This movement is slow and steady, but when the pressure between the plates reaches a certain point, the plates suddenly slip, releasing the stored energy in the form of seismic waves. These waves travel through the Earth's crust, causing the ground to shake and resulting in an earthquake.

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Gozertank t1_j9cnn9f wrote

Simplest visualisation is snapping your fingers. Your thumb and middle finger are the tectonic plates, pushing against each other until the force trying to move them becomes stronger than the friction keeping them in place and then SNAP earthquake.

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Tongalaxy t1_j9cix35 wrote

So basically, when the tectonic plates move, they can get stuck and build up a lot of pressure. Once that pressure becomes too much, it causes the plates to suddenly shift and release a ton of energy, which is what causes an earthquake.

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sacoPT t1_j9cob3q wrote

Tectonic plates are HUGE and move slowly, which would be akin to very slowly bending a plastic ruler. You can keep bending it for a long time and nothing will happen until it reaches the breaking point and shrapnel flies everywhere

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jaa101 t1_j9dot2w wrote

Static (stationary) friction is stronger than kinetic (sliding) friction. In other words, once two objects start sliding past each other, the friction between them is less than before. Also, once motion has begun there is momentum which will tend to keep it going.

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