The Internet, transit and telecommunications systems, the base station, and power grids can all be hit by a solar storm, bringing civilization to a standstill. The sun’s swirling convection currents in the upper atmospheres occasionally spew billions of tons of magnetized plasma into space.
ReportedlyInternet, telephones and other electronic devices can all be disrupted by a major geomagnetic storm. When the sun ejects a large bubble of superheated fuel known as plasma, weather events occur.
Known as a coronal mass ejection, this bubble contains a cloud of electrically conducting protons and electrons. Whenever these molecules collide with the magnetic constraint that surrounds the planet, the magnetic discipline distorts and weakens.
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Geomagnetic storms have been accurately recorded since the mid-1800s, and new scientific evidence from Antarctic ice core samples has shown horrifying confirmation of the same increase. These suggest that geomagnetic storms cause induced currents to flow through the electrical grid, which includes transformers, relays and sensors.
G1 (Minor) Geomagnetic Storm Watch for April 6-7. pic.twitter.com/ft9XyK4pa1
— NOAA Space Weather (@NWSSWPC) Apr 4, 2022
A faint coronal mass ejection (CME) was produced by a filament burst in the southwestern quadrant on April 3. NOAA/SWPC predict a possible passage over Earth on April 6. A minor (G1) geomagnetic storm watch will be in effect within the next 48-72 hours. pic.twitter.com/qDecXpUViw
— SolarHam (@SolarHam) Apr 4, 2022
It’s over 100 amps, according to Space.com, and can cause internal damage to the parts. If a major geomagnetic storm occurs right now, it could impact the vast majority of electrical ways that people use every day. If it happens, it could cause trillions of dollars in financial loss and endanger the lives of large segments of the world’s population, simply because we depend on electricity and evolving technology for everything, even medical crises. It would take human knowledge back to the Middle Ages.
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Not only can these geomagnetic storms destroy the internet, but they can also burn the delicate electronics on satellites into the air, completely cutting out the phones linked by these satellites. Through submarine cables, these storms can also affect the internet and mobile services. While the cables themselves will be undamaged, the storms will damage the digital and power connectors plugged into them, causing interruptions that can last anywhere from three to six months.
The intensity of geomagnetic storms is rated on a scale of one to five, with G1 indicating a minor storm and G5 a severe one. The Carrington Event, which occurred in 1859 and was rated G5, is the most important known report of a geomagnetic storm. The energy of the Carrington event is largely determined based on the observatory’s current observations of the Earth’s magnetic field.
Cover Image: NASA