Earth’s Magnetic Field Flip Could Happen Sooner Than Expected
Earth’s magnetic field, which protects the planet from huge blasts of deadly solar radiation, has been weakening over the past six months, according to data collected by a European Space Agency (ESA) satellite array called Swarm.
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Does that mean we will need to hold maps upside down?
If it does flip is it a sudden thing or does it happen over hundreds of years. And what happens to magnetic media and storage devices?
AwesomeO said:
And what happens to magnetic media and storage devices?
Nothing. It won’t effect them one jot.
AwesomeO said:
If it does flip is it a sudden thing or does it happen over hundreds of years. And what happens to magnetic media and storage devices?
sibeen said:
AwesomeO said:
And what happens to magnetic media and storage devices?
Nothing. It won’t effect them one jot.
So bank records, our accounts, cards and things won’t be affected? Damn, I can probably reduce my zombie apocalypse salmon stocks.
Oh, and the flip will take at least a few hundred years.
sibeen said:
Oh, and the flip will take at least a few hundred years.
Geology is teh boring.
poikilotherm said:
No it’s not.
sibeen said:
Oh, and the flip will take at least a few hundred years.
Geology is teh boring.
Michael V said:
poikilotherm said:No it’s not.
sibeen said:
Oh, and the flip will take at least a few hundred years.
Geology is teh boring.
:)
sibeen said:
Oh, and the flip will take at least a few hundred years.
Think I might still sell my compass shares.
PermeateFree said:
sibeen said:
Oh, and the flip will take at least a few hundred years.
Think I might still sell my compass shares.
they went broke ages ago.
AwesomeO said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal#Duration
If it does flip is it a sudden thing or does it happen over hundreds of years. And what happens to magnetic media and storage devices?
Not properly understood at present, most reversals are thought to take hundreds to thousands of years, but there is evidence for much quicker reversals, on the scale of years or even months.
Does that mean we will need to hold maps upside down?
nah, far easier just to swap our southern hemisphere compasses with the norther hemisphere ones.
JudgeMental said:
Does that mean we will need to hold maps upside down?nah, far easier just to swap our southern hemisphere compasses with the norther hemisphere ones.
Gee, never thought of that. Problem solved.
JudgeMental said:
Does that mean we will need to hold maps upside down?nah, far easier just to swap our southern hemisphere compasses with the norther hemisphere ones.
My great aunt and grandma sucks was my mnemonic for remembering grid to map subtract, mag to grid add. Along with that and establishing the scale was checking the hemisphere and magnetic progression.
JudgeMental said:
Hahahahahahaha!
Does that mean we will need to hold maps upside down?nah, far easier just to swap our southern hemisphere compasses with the norther hemisphere ones.
Michael V said:
(Although compasses are balanced differently for different regions, so it holds true a bit.)
JudgeMental said:Hahahahahahaha!
Does that mean we will need to hold maps upside down?nah, far easier just to swap our southern hemisphere compasses with the norther hemisphere ones.
(Although compasses are balanced differently for different regions, so it holds true a bit.)
correct. they are weighted differently to account for dip.
I guess all the GPS satellites will have to reverse their orbital direction too…
AwesomeO said:
If it does flip is it a sudden thing or does it happen over hundreds of years. And what happens to magnetic media and storage devices?
Hopefully my mortgage will become a credit.
I, for one, welcome our new reverse debt overlords.
poikilotherm said:
sibeen said:
Oh, and the flip will take at least a few hundred years.
Geology is teh boring.
Not so boring. It’s the dipole moment that would flip, the quadrupole, octupole etc fields would keep the Earth protected during any flip. The atmosphere is even better protection than any magnetic field of course. For the quadrupole case for instance instead of just a North and a South magnetic pole the Earth would have four magnetic poles. Which is cute.
As for geology being boring, just wait until the next “flood basalt” event, laying down kilometer-thick layers of new rock over distances of hundreds of kilometers. The air would become totally unbreathable during that time because of volcanic gases such as sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Not boring at all.
Even a minor event such as the Mt Gambier hotspot moving offshore creating new continental shelf there could be rather interesting.