The Threat of a Solar Superstorm Is Growing–and We're Not Ready

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-threat-of-a-solar-superstorm-is-growing-and-were-not-ready/

by Brajeshwar • 2 years ago

57 19 2 years ago

A solar cycle takes around 11 years and is about to be completed in 2025. In the end of the cycle (2025) the magnetic poles flip and until then the tension builds up leading to increased activity on the sun which can potentially harm us.

Fun fact after we make it tru 2025 and the sun activity should be less, obviously it will be our good efforts to combat climate change which did it.

01HNNWZ0MV43FF• 2 years ago

I do not remember a pole flip in my 20s

JonChesterfield• 2 years ago

You think burning oil on earth changes the behaviour of the sun?

aarond0623• 2 years ago

How does an 11-year solar cycle explain decades of observed global warming?

AvocadoPanic• 2 years ago

Decades?

There's been 11,000+ years of warming since the end of the last glacial period.

beretguy• 2 years ago

we’re not ready

You can’t even buy a burger without internet

(https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40195164)

mikhailfranco3• 2 years ago

So CMEs will improve people's health and reduce obesity.

mikhailfranco3• 2 years ago

EMP: The FACTS You NEED to Know! (Full 80-Min Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHoOH8_t9Ww

Solar CMEs correspond to EMP pulse 3. CMEs can occur at any time during the solar cycle. You may get 1-2 hours warning, but authorities may be scared of crying wolf.

It will last for hours. It may affect the night-side of the Earth. Higher latitudes are more at risk. It consists of low frequency pulses, affecting long conductors (miles) and their connected equipment (transformers).

It will probably not affect your phone, laptop, car, kitchen ... unless your home devices are plugged into the mains, and the fuses/surge-protectors cannot cope (unlikely). Hint: buy a Siemens surge protector.

If your domestic solar/wind/diesel generators survive, only use them to keep your food freezer working, almost nothing else matters when grid & internet are down. Your neighbors, or less charitable types, may notice lights.

The mains power will likely be off for weeks, maybe months. Some emergency aid may be available (water, food, basic medical), depending on preparedness of your local authorities and military, but don't be surprised if some/most/all civil authority collapses (e.g. police go home to help their families). Some hospitals may have generators and fuel for days, up to a week.

Mad Max scenario only happens if power is not restored within 2-4 weeks. Emergency aid will depend on how the damage is distributed across the locality or country. If everything is down, fend for yourself. If it is localized, you might get some help, but .... remember Katrina in New Orleans ... don't hold your breath and hope.

schiffern• 2 years ago

Nice video. Arthur Bradley has done tons of legwork educating and doing QA interviews on Youtube, just search his name and "EMP".

  > unless... the fuses/surge-protectors cannot cope (unlikely). Hint: buy a Siemens surge protector.

Dr Bradley also stresses flipping your main breaker, as soon as possible (and ideally beforehand). Surge protectors work for short spikes, but constant overvoltage (like the slow-rising E3, which builds over seconds-to-minutes) will destroy them instantly once the grid voltage rises to meet the SPU cutoff voltage.

After many teardowns he does recommend the FS140, but it wasn't a blanket recommendation for all Siemens products. Quality varies across their surge product line, from what I've seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRAJefgdKOU

JumpCrisscross• 2 years ago

only use them to keep your food freezer working

This sounds like you can replicate all the advantages of full battery back-up with a month’s supply of canned food.

grecy• 2 years ago

* remember Katrina in New Orleans ... don't hold your breath and hope.*

I think it’s worth pointing out not every country has citizens barely able to survive and will to turn to violence at the slightest nudge.

Would live get harder? For sure. But it doesn’t have to get ugly.

hmlesmictrnactn• 2 years ago

uhm u seen the protests

mikhailfranco3• 2 years ago

Previous cosmic ray episodes are recorded as Miyake Events:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyake_event

Most of these are solar activity. But perhaps, maybe and perhaps, it is just about possible, that the 1052 Miyake Event was caused by the 1054 Crab Nebula supernova:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_Nebula

The speculation would be that cosmic rays arrived a couple years before Chinese astronomers noticed a change in visual appearance (naked eye, of course, no telescopes).

kylehotchkiss• 2 years ago

Practically, does this just mean keeping your backup hard drive inside of a faraday cage?

TacticalCoder• 2 years ago

It means pull the plugs for all your equipment and they'll be fine. Then eat tuna cans for a few weeks waiting for things to come back to normal.

leobg• 2 years ago

Cue the novel “One Second After “, which describes what the world might look like after an EMP attack.

TheVespasian• 2 years ago

An event like this would be more of a rejuvenating forest fire than an apocalypse.

keepamovin• 2 years ago

Wow, this was a prescient post.

The Threat of a Solar Superstorm Is Growing–and We're Not Ready

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