  We proceeded from general physical concepts based, on the one hand, on the
Umoff-Poynting theorem, and on the other, on the phenomenological theory of
earthquakes, and formulated the following question: What are the directions of
energy flows in the earthquake source before and after the formation of a main
rupture in it? A non-standard technique for experimental research of this issue
has been developed. The epicentral zone of the main shock is considered as a
kind of track detector, and foreshocks and aftershocks are considered as marks
(tracers) marking the propagation in the source of some factor that has energy
and stimulates the excitation of foreshocks and aftershocks in a
stressed-strained rock mass. By processing and analyzing a large volume of
observation data, it was found that over time, foreshocks, on average, approach
the epicenter of the main shock, while aftershocks, on the contrary, move away
from the epicenter. A method is indicated for verifying the result by studying
the magnitude dependence of foreshock convergence and aftershock divergence.
Keywords: foreshock, aftershock, main rupture, evolution equation, nonlinear
diffusion waves, fault length.
