Can someone explain the concept that the rock cycle never destroys elements of rocks, but merely redistributes?
1 Answer
According to the laws of physics you cannot destroy matter, you can only move little bits of it to other places.
Explanation:
You cannot destroy matter or energy. This is one of the central laws of physics. It only moves around different places and states. Just because you can't see it is still there, doesn't mean it is not.
In the rock cycle, for example, when sedimentary rock is changed into metamorphic by heat, pressure and/or chemical reactions, it is still the same rock, just in a different shape. The same atoms make it up, they are just put together in a different way due to pressure or heat energy.
In the same way, when metamorphic rock melts into lava, that just means it has a lot of heat energy which breaks down bonds between atoms, not the atoms themselves, and so they lose structure and become a liquid.
With processes of erosion, parts of a rock are taken away. This does not destroy the rock, simply moves it to a different place, where it might melt or compact with other tiny bits of rock to form larger rocks.
They are all the same atoms. They have to be, according to the laws of physics. They simply move around by processes like erosion, deposition, melting, solidifying and so forth.
