On this day, 41 years ago, August 29, 1984 (August 3, 1984 in the lunar calendar), the theory of continental plate drift was confirmed. Continental Plate Drift On August 29, 1984, American scientists confirmed that the continents on earth were moving slowly and uninterrupted around the earth. Since the early 1970s, NASA has used a laser emitter to shoot a powerful beam of light from a certain point on the earth onto the mirror of a special satellite at an altitude of 5600 kilometers. The beam is then reflected back to the launch point of the earth. Based on the time spent between the two points, calculate the distance between the two. This type of data and related research (data from rocks) confirm that Europe and North America are drifting farther and farther apart from each other as the Atlantic expands, that Hawaii and South America are getting closer and closer, and that Western California will eventually become an island in the Pacific. U.S. space observation data are consistent with the theory of plate crustal tectonics, that is, continents are plates more than 30 kilometers thick floating on melted rocks on the surface of the mantle. The theory of plate crust tectonics believes that the current continent formed about 300 million years ago, and the drift began 180 million years ago. Observation data show that the Atlantic Ocean expands by 1 cm every year, Hawaii and South America are close to 5 cm every year, Australia and North America are separated by 1 cm every year, and North California and South California, which are located on two different continental plates, are squeezing each other, each plate is worn away by 6 centimeters every year. In addition, most earthquakes in California are caused by plate movement.