The Magnetic Field Is Shifting. The Poles May Flip. This Could Get Bad.

[rangerrebew]

The Magnetic Field Is Shifting. The Poles May Flip. This Could Get Bad.
The shield that protects the Earth from solar radiation is under attack from within. We can’t prevent it, but we ought to prepare.
01.26.2018 / By Alanna Mitchell
 

One day in 1905, the French geophysicist Bernard Brunhes brought back to his lab some rocks he’d unearthed from a freshly cut road near the village of Pont Farin. When he analyzed their magnetic properties, he was astonished at what they showed: Millions of years ago, the Earth’s magnetic poles had been on the opposite sides of the planet. North was south and south was north. The discovery spoke of planetary anarchy. Scientists had no way to explain it.


When next the poles change places, the consequences for the electrical and electronic infrastructure that runs civilization will be dire. The question is when that will happen.

Today, we know that the poles have changed places hundreds of times, most recently 780,000 years ago. (Sometimes, the poles try to reverse positions but then snap back into place, in what is called an excursion. The last time was about 40,000 years ago.) We also know that when they flip next time, the consequences for the electrical and electronic infrastructure that runs modern civilization will be dire. The question is when that will happen.

https://undark.org/article/books-alanna-mitchell-spinning-magnet/

[rangerrebew]

This couldn't have something to do with "global warming" by any chance?

[driftdiver]

Oh no were all gonna die.

On the plus side the y2k consultants are ready

[WingNot]

Oh no were all gonna die.

On the plus side the y2k consultants are ready

Those hacks were the Milton Waddams of the day.   I have no doubt many still reside in windowless cubbiehole closets in the basement of every large company in the USA.

[Smokin Joe]

Those hacks were the Milton Waddams of the day.   I have no doubt many still reside in windowless cubbiehole closets in the basement of every large company in the USA.

Many of the people who brought the mainframes up to speed for Y2K were retired when they went back to work to do so. Many of them are gone, now.

[Victoria33]

@Smokin Joe
@mystery-ak

I sent the link to my Bob, the earth scientist, to tell me what he thinks of the article.  I'll let you know what he says.

[Free Vulcan]

Well if we would somehow start spinning on an axis of somewhere say, around Brazil as the new north or south pole, then yes that would be problematic.

[Sanguine]

Oh no were all gonna die.

On the plus side the y2k consultants are ready

Yes, Y2k sprang to my mind also. 

[WingNot]

What Would Happen If the North and South Poles Were Flipped?.

What About Human Extinction?
Although many unwanted and unexpected effects may result from geomagnetic reversal, it’s unlikely that it would cause a global apocalypse. According to Monika Korte, the scientific director of the Niemegk Geomagnetic Observatory at GFZ Potsdam in Germany, “Even if the field becomes very weak, at the Earth’s surface, we are shielded from radiation by the atmosphere. Similarly as we cannot see or feel the presence of the geomagnetic field now, we most likely would not notice any significant change from a reversal.”

https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/happen-north-south-poles-flipped.html

[Smokin Joe]

@Smokin Joe
@mystery-ak

I sent the link to my Bob, the earth scientist, to tell me what he thinks of the article.  I'll let you know what he says.

As the article states, the poles may flip, and have done so numerous times in the past. Bands of different magnetic polarity preserved in seafloor basalt which correspond on either side of the mid-Atlantic Ridge, for instance were part of the evidence which showed that the seafloor originated in the submarine rifts at the middle of the ridge, and had moved outward with time. No argument about that, nor whether it will happen again, just a question of when.

If the poles flip, it has been postulated that the magnetic field collapses, even momentarily, and exposes the Earth to considerable radiation, and quite possibly, induced currents from the shifting magnetic field would damage or destroy electronics. We are looking at an event much like Yellowstone eruptions. We can figure it will happen again: the question is when. We can't prevent it, nor are we likely to be able to do anything which would trigger it (just along for the ride). We may not be able to adequately prep for it, aside from a large stockpile of stuff and a deep burrow, and in the  case of magnetic field shifts, that might not be enough to prevent electronic/electrical damage even with substantial Faraday cages.

[dfwgator]

! No longer available

[Oceander]

If the north-south magnetic axis just rotates through 180 degrees over the course of several months to a year, without the magnetic field collapsing or significantly varying its shape near the surface, then it would be extremely annoying but something we could adapt to without catastrophic results. 

On the other hand, if the field suddenly collapses, and then springs back up in a new configuration, that could cause catastrophic damage to everything electronic, which in turn could cause a general social collapse. 

[WingNot]

If the north-south magnetic ...

On the other hand, if the field suddenly collapses, and then springs back up in a new configuration, that could cause catastrophic damage to everything electronic, which in turn could cause a general social collapse.

Just like Y2k.   Speculative doomsday bulletin.

[dfwgator]

On the other hand, if the field suddenly collapses, and then springs back up in a new configuration, that could cause catastrophic damage to everything electronic, which in turn could cause a general social collapse.

! No longer available

[Oceander]

Just like Y2k.   Speculative doomsday bulletin.

Nope. 

[truth_seeker]

If the wifi remains up, we can all watch it on the interwebs

[Smokin Joe]

Nope.

Precisely. This has happened before, we just weren't there to observe it, and we have no experience with it vs our technology.

As for Y2K, that event was a crisis because of the way the software was written, and unprecedented. Billions were spent to prevent it because it could be prevented by rewriting a pile of code.

[WingNot]

Nope.

Yep.

[Suppressed]

As the article states, the poles may flip, and have done so numerous times in the past. Bands of different magnetic polarity preserved in seafloor basalt which correspond on either side of the mid-Atlantic Ridge, for instance were part of the evidence which showed that the seafloor originated in the submarine rifts at the middle of the ridge, and had moved outward with time. No argument about that, nor whether it will happen again, just a question of when.

If the poles flip, it has been postulated that the magnetic field collapses, even momentarily, and exposes the Earth to considerable radiation, and quite possibly, induced currents from the shifting magnetic field would damage or destroy electronics. We are looking at an event much like Yellowstone eruptions. We can figure it will happen again: the question is when. We can't prevent it, nor are we likely to be able to do anything which would trigger it (just along for the ride). We may not be able to adequately prep for it, aside from a large stockpile of stuff and a deep burrow, and in the  case of magnetic field shifts, that might not be enough to prevent electronic/electrical damage even with substantial Faraday cages.

@Smokin Joe
@Victoria33

Good summary.


Though I don't want it to happen, because of the disruption it would cause to us and wildlife, it would be interesting scientifically, to answer whether these flips are instantaneous on a short timescale or just geologically. And it will be "fun" to take measurements on the new basalt adjacent to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

No problem!

! No longer available

[thackney]

If the poles flip, it has been postulated that the magnetic field collapses, even momentarily, and exposes the Earth to considerable radiation, and quite possibly, induced currents from the shifting magnetic field would damage or destroy electronics.

No way.  Not enough power at those levels, not even close.

[GtHawk]

The story from NASA wasn't quite as scary in this article from 2006.

https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012-poleReversal.html

[Oceander]

No way.  Not enough power at those levels, not even close.

Depends on how quickly it collapses.

[thackney]

Depends on how quickly it collapses.

No, it doesn't.  The field strength is too weak.  If it stopped in milliseconds, switched back and forth at the same speed, it would not destroy electronics.

But the massive amount of rotating mass that generates this field isn't going to make a flip in weeks, it will take months/years.

[Restored]

Many of the people who brought the mainframes up to speed for Y2K were retired when they went back to work to do so. Many of them are gone, now.

Not me.