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InterviewSolution
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Explain why the maximum height of a mountain on earth is approximateluy 10km ? |
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Answer» Solution :A MOUNTAIN base is not under uniform com- pression and this provides some shearing stress to the provides some shearing stress to the rocks under which they can flow. The stress due to all the material on the top should be less than the critical shearing stress at which the rocks flow. At the bottom of a mountain of height .h., the force per unit area due to the WEIGHT of the mountain is h`rho`g where `rho` is the density of the material of the mountain and gis the acceleration due to gravity. The material at the bottom experiences this force in the vertical direction and the sides of the moun- tain are free. There is a shear component, approximately h`rho`g it self. Now the elastic LIMIT for a typical rock is `3xx10^(7)Nm^(2)` Equating this to `hrhog" with "rho=3xx10^(3)kgm^(-3)` gives `h=(30xx10^(-7))/(3xx10^(3)xx10)=10km` HENCE, the maximum height of a moun- tain on earth is approximately 10 KM. |
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