A 3D Rapid Prototyping Method for Visualizing Earth's Expansion Through Handcrafted Models: A Chthonian Planet Perspective
Jan Mestan · 2025
Modeling the physical evolution of Earth as a self-organizing particle system remains a formidable computational challenge, particularly over geological timescales spanning hundreds of millions to billions of years. Given the astronomical number of interacting particles, direct one-to-one physical simulation is currently unfeasible. This study introduces a rapid prototyping methodology that approximates the macroscale geometric effects of Earth's hypothesized volumetric expansion, especially over the last c. 180 million years, through analog modeling techniques. By iteratively reconstructing presentday continental crust positions on progressively smaller-radius spheres, a consistent and coherent geometric fit among continents emerges. Within this framework, Earth is conceptualized as a chthonian planet undergoing long-term volumetric expansion driven by internal relaxation following an early-stage compressed state. This approach offers a physically motivated, low-resolution visualization platform and challenges conventional rigid-plate tectonic models, encouraging further investigation of planetary-scale geodynamics under relaxed structural constraints.