The expanding earth hypothesis has become folklore in the context that in the net, there is transfer of mass from the core and mantle to the surface by way of various geological processes over eons and also by way of metors and other extraterrestrial objects crashing into the earth. NASA has determined that yes, in theory there really is some support for the expanding earth hypothesis but that the rate of expansion is negligible and unmeasurable such that it shall remain an undying conversation piece but it is of no consequence. Data taken by NASA over a period of 20 years shows that there is in fact an expansion but it also shows that the rate of expansion is negligible and not measurable.

The full text of the NASA article is available online at this link: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/earth20110816.html

The relevant text in this report that relates to the expanding earth hypothesis is reproduced below Alan’s picture. He was the lead researcher in this NASA effort.

THE FULL TEXT OF THE NASA REPORT

Since Charles Darwin’s time, scientists have speculated that the solid Earth might be expanding or contracting. That was the prevailing belief, until scientists developed the theory of plate tectonics, which explained the large-scale motions of Earth’s lithosphere, or outermost shell. Even with the acceptance of plate tectonics half a century ago, some Earth and space scientists have continued to speculate on Earth’s possible expansion or contraction on various scientific grounds. Using a cadre of space measurement tools and a new data calculation technique, NASA detected no statistically significant expansion of the solid Earth. Tectonic forces push mountains higher, while erosion and landslides wear them down. In addition, large-scale climate events redistribute vast water masses among Earth’s ocean, atmosphere and land. To put movements of Earth’s crust into proper context, earth scientists need a frame of reference to evaluate them against. Any significant change in Earth’s radius will alter our understanding of our planet’s physical processes and is fundamental to the branch of science called geodesy, which seeks to measure Earth’s shape and gravity field, and how they change over time. To make these measurements, the science community established the ITRF {International Terrestrial Reference Frame}. This reference frame is used for ground navigation and for tracking spacecraft in Earth orbit. It is also used to monitor many aspects of global climate change, including sea level rise and its sources; imbalances in ice mass at Earth’s poles; and the continuing rebound of Earth’s surface following the retreat of the massive ice sheets that blanketed much of Earth during the last glaciation. High-precision space geodesy gives scientists tools they can use to estimate changes in Earth’s radius. These include Satellite laser ranging with millimeter-level precision, Very-long baseline interferometry — a radio astronomy technology that combines observations of an object made simultaneously by many telescopes to simulate a telescope as big as the maximum distance between the telescopes. Global Positioning System, Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite, Scientists use all these techniques to calculate the ITRF. NASA independently evaluated the accuracy of the ITRF and shed new light on the Earth expansion hypothesis and came up with an independent confirmation that the solid Earth is not getting larger.

CRITICAL COMMENTARY

The NASA measurement precision was 1mm and the data show that in twenty years the expansion if any was less than 1mm. Hypothetically, if it was 0.5mm, NASA could not have detected that change. Hypothetically, a 0.5mm change every 20 years translates to 25 meters in the geological time scale of a million years.