
Plates can only move with a suitable geometry and the global pattern keeps adjusting to reach a stable geometry. During this process, plates change their shape and/or size, which aids plate mobility to ultimately reach a stable geometry. Various permutations of breaking and/or combining of high P/A plates are applied throughout earth's history to reduce the global P/A ratio.

Plates are either broken and subducted in order to remove plates with high P/A ratios or combined with other plates to reduce the total perimeter in the lithospheric plate mosaic. Plates organize themselves to form a space-fitting geometry with a minimum perimeter/area (P/A) ratio (i.e., SA/V in three-dimensions) and a coordination number close to 5. Geometric and morphologic plate analyses are based on paleoreconstructions, beginning at 200 Ma, large-scale volcanic events, APWPs, and geoid data. This paper tracks the role of plates in plate tectonics and mantle convection. Such patterning of the cracks indicates a level of self-organization in the structuring and layout of the features-arrived at simply by imposing metallization boundaries in proximity to each other, separated by a distance of the order of the critical dimension of the pattern size apparent in the large surface mud-crack patterns. The mud-crack patterning can be controlled depending on the thickness and shape of the metallization-ultimately leading to regularly spaced cracks and/or metal mesa structures. The density of the mud-crack patterns depends on the plasma dose and on the metal thickness. This crust is subsequently cracked via the deposition of a thin metal film-having residual tensile stress.


A thin, brittle silica-like crust is formed on the surface of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using oxygen plasma. Here, we demonstrate an original and simple method to produce unique, localized and controllable self-organised patterns on elastomeric films. Exploiting pattern formation-such as that observed in nature-in the context of micro/nanotechnology could have great benefits if coupled with the traditional top-down lithographic approach.
