Relative wrote:Hello Joe,
you mentioned
Quote:Higher order harmonic fields (octupolar and quadrupolar) probably provide sufficient protection from harmful solar radiation.
Could you find some time to explain a bit about those? Or give a pointer?
Cheers, Relative
JM: The earth's magnetic field can be decomposed via a spherical harmonic expansion (if you don't have the math background, it may be just word salad to you). Each harmonic 2 (dipole), 4 (quadrupole), 8 (octupole) will provide a portion of the magnetic field strength. These harmonics grow and decay differently from one another and so while the dipole portion of the field may go to near zero, these higher harmonic fields (while overall weaker) still provide some measure of protection from incoming solar radiation.
Cheers
Joe Meert
OK, I approximately understand what you mean - basically a harmonic analysis with base vectors dipole, quadpole, octopole,.. 2^n pole, ...
So, the earth's magnetic field is quite a complex thing..
And from what you said I guess that means the dipole portion of it has somewhat different cause than the rest? How do you place the higher order poles?
Thanks for the answers,
Relative
While I expect computer failures will be rare due to the weak magnetic field, I do agree we should not put all our eggs in the large scale integration basket. Many things can (and should) be done at about the same cost without utilizing digital technology. The Electric power company swaps the position of the wires on the poles at 100 meter or less intervals so as to reduce the radiation of 60 hertz photons, reduce vulnerability to EMP = electromagnetic pulse, lightning, solar flares, CME =coronal mass ejections from the sun and perhaps other reasons. Neil
Wow !
This thread really is full of ill informed bullcrap.
60Hz photons ? Oh really.
Computer failure ? Riiiiiiiight.
Pendulums and other rubbish ? Purrrlease.
Living Energy ? Oh dear we really have dropped off the physics map straight into the realms of the paranormal.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3359555.stm
http://www.physlink.com/News/040804EarthMagneticField.cfm
With all of these doomsday scenarios running about, how will we enlighten ourselves?
What doomsday scenarios ?
Hi heliotrope: All light sources emit photons which have an alternate identity called electomagnetic waves. Infrared light sources emit photons; how about microwave antennas? I realize we don't generally mention photons in connection with radio antennas, so forgive me for being cute. At what frequency do the photons stop? I don't think they stop even at less than 60 hertz. At least 1% of all the electricity generated is lost as electromagnetic radiation. The 60 hertz radio signal can likely be detected billions of miles from Earth if your antenna is thousands of miles long. That is more than 1% of all the photons emitted by Earth, or is it? Neil
Hi heliothope: Because the Earth's magnetic field is weakening, a very fast =.99C ion penetrates your computer and hits the CPU chip. One of the atoms in the chip is transmuted to a different element. Some other subatomic particles are produced by this miniature fission reaction that may damage other atoms in your CPU chip. Now your computer won't boot up, so you buy a new computer. You wanted to up grade anyway. This likely happened to someone, somewhere today. Most computer failures are caused by something else.
I can't defend the other two, so bullcrap they may be. Neil
You're right about the extent of the electromagnetic spectrum. However radio photons at 60Hz don't affect a damn thing.
Do you have any idea of the wavelength at that frequency ?
Well I'll tell you. It's 4996.5 kilometers.
You build the antenna and the receiver too !
Personally I'd love to see the ballast capacitor for the antenna.
It's an irrelevant bit of information.
As for the computer problems. Dude, do you have the chip on your PC on display to the sky ?
No I didn't think so.
Any cosmic ray has to get through the atmosphere, the roof of your house, the ceiling, the metal outer case of your PC, numerous other components and then the chip heatsink and the silicon substrate of the chip before it gets anywhere near the actual logic circuits.
The amount of computer failures due to cosmic rays can be counted on the fingers of one hand. And they've all been in orbit.
More irrelevant information.
heliotrope : Your tone is of someone regarding his knowledge as superior to others. I can give you one hint though : you are lacking physics 101.
nimh was talking about energy losses in 60 Hz range, and not only that, causing disturbances in susceptible equipment of sufficient size, plus vulnerability of power net to the EM pulses.
Please go to an exhibition with the device used to show high-energy particles : charged plates stacked horizontally, and the fascinating zaps! going through the device several times per second. Even under meters of concrete building.
As the logical gates get smaller, the energy required to swap states is less and the damage more likely to be permanent.
W/O magnetic shielding the number of particles /m^2 /second will go up so will likehood of failure.
W/O a process called radiation hardening, no current chips can survive in high orbits or outside Earth vicinity. And those are chips 2 generations older than your Pentium, and cost millions because of hardening.
Relative.
We may not have to worry after all:
Quote:A new model of the way the Earth interacts with the solar wind indicates that a replacement field will form in the upper atmosphere during the switch.
Scientists had previously thought that the planet would be left without a protective shield to stop lethal radiation from space reaching the surface. ...
In a paper to be published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, Guido Birk and Harald Lesch of the University of Munich, Germany, and Christian Konz of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching report an investigation of exactly what happens when the field is drastically reduced or vanishes altogether.
Their simulations show that the solar wind - the million-kilometre-an-hour stream of hydrogen and helium nuclei from the sun - wraps itself around the Earth in a way that induces a magnetic field in the ionosphere as strong as the original field.
Solar wind to shield Earth during pole flip
all i can say now is DOWN with Gravity !
