In geology, the elastic rebound theory was the first theory to satisfactorily explain earthquakes.
2.
According to the elastic rebound theory of, eventually the deformation ( strain ) becomes great enough that something breaks, usually at an existing fault.
3.
In 1910, after studying the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Harry Fielding Reid put forward the " elastic rebound theory " which remains the foundation for modern tectonic studies.