

Earth's Magnetic Field Flip Could Happen Sooner Than Expected - sytelus
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-s-magnetic-field-flip-could-happen-sooner-than-expected/

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jmount
One flaw that bugs me in the article: "the dangerous cosmic radiation spewing
from the sun in the form of solar winds." From the Wikipedia: "Cosmic rays are
immensely high-energy radiation, mainly originating outside the Solar System."
It might not be strictly wrong (as language leaves open that some cosmic rays
may come from our sun; and the Wikipedia solar wind article has "The solar
wind affects the other incoming cosmic rays interacting with the atmosphere of
planets."). But cosmic radiation is most famous for being very high energy
(cosmic scale) and of exotic origin. A small pedantic point, but lack of
distinction makes me think of this
[http://explosm.net/comics/3557/](http://explosm.net/comics/3557/) .

Edit: I know cosmic rays are not typically em-radiation. The name rays (which
usually denotes em-radition) is a historic accident. Hence "cosmic rays" and
"cosmic radiation" are fairly close terms. And yes our sun produces tons of
rays and radiation- but not typically at the "cosmic" energy scales.

I don't mind getting down-voted for being overly pedantic (and perhaps worse
yet trying to be pedantic, while being possibly wrong- this isn't my field).
But some of the follow-ups really look like they are missing the same type of
distinction in the exact manner I was originally complaining about (which is
why there is some small value in trying point this out).

~~~
privong
"Cosmic rays" are not the same as "cosmic radiation". Cosmic rays are charged
(massive) particles which are moving at relativistic speeds, and are not
electromagnetic radiation. In contrast, cosmic radiation consists of photons.

I see the wikipedia article for cosmic rays [0] does state they are radiation,
which is misleading and should probably be changed.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_rays](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_rays)

~~~
dragonwriter
Cosmic rays are particle radiation [0], so its not misleading to state that
they are radiation.

[0]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_radiation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_radiation)

~~~
privong
Yes, you're correct. My bad. Though, in my experience, "radiation" without a
modifier almost always refers to the electromagnetic variety. But I guess that
could vary depending on what circles one hangs out in.

~~~
Sharlin
IME in physics, the term "radiation" usually refers to particles whose total
energy is much greater than their rest mass. Not all free electrons constitute
beta radiation; only those whose velocity is some considerable fraction of the
speed of light. Massless particles such as photons, on the other hand, are
always radiation according to that definition.

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ChuckMcM
This is an interesting result. An old paper [1](1988) was my first exposure to
asking the question about whether or not periodic pole reversals were tied to
other cyclic phenomena such as volcanism, glacial periods, and mass
extinctions.

I observe that the magnetic field has a fairly material impact on the upper
atmosphere, so it seems reasonable to include it in the models on climate
change.

[1]
[http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/30064982?uid=2&uid=4&s...](http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/30064982?uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104496247763)

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dm2
"Still, there is no evidence that a weakened magnetic field would result in a
doomsday for Earth."... "Researchers think power grids and communication
systems would be most at risk."

Somebody give it to me strait, do I need to build a doomsday bunker ASAP and
start stockpiling supplies?

~~~
bellerocky
> do I need to build a doomsday bunker ASAP

No. The cost of building and maintaining a bunker is higher than any chance of
ever realizing a benefit. This is true for any doomsday type scenario but if
you live in a place with dangerously high winds or tornadoes a cellar might be
a good place to weather a storm.

> stockpiling supplies?

Yes, you should always stockpile food and water in case of emergency [1]

[1]
[http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/foodwater/prepare.asp](http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/foodwater/prepare.asp)

~~~
higherpurpose
Do they still have that ridiculous law that makes you a potential terrorist
for stockpiling more than 7 day's worth of food?

[http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/10-ridiculous-things-
tha...](http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/10-ridiculous-things-that-make-
you.html)

Apparently something like that just happened last month:

[http://www.dcclothesline.com/2014/06/23/fbi-raids-home-
dange...](http://www.dcclothesline.com/2014/06/23/fbi-raids-home-dangerous-
doomsday-prepper-agents-find-legally-owned-firearms-barrels-food/)

~~~
tptacek
There is no such ridiculous law, as the (somewhat unhinged) article itself
makes clear.

If you hold your nose and click through to the original source they link to,
it's even further from your summary, referring to stockpiles of MREs, on a
short list that also includes night vision goggles, rifle tripods, high-
capacity magazines, and ammunition pouches.

(The flyer seems pretty clearly geared towards "suspicious" militia types).

~~~
3pt14159
Uh, MREs are a pretty normal part of a survival kit. I've owned them before.
It is a pretty stupid law, even if it's scope is targeted towards militia
types.

~~~
tptacek
What law? There is no such law.

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sytelus
I thought Mars lost water and have thin atmosphere because of loss of its
magnetic field.

 _Mars owes its dry and dusty appearance to its wispy atmosphere, less than 1
percent of the thickness of the Earth 's. But it wasn't always that way: The
Red Planet formerly had a much thicker atmosphere that probably allowed for
liquid water on the surface, an atmosphere that was depleted when the planet's
magnetic field faded away._

[http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/moon-
mars/what...](http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/moon-mars/what-
happened-to-mars-atmosphere-15277534)

~~~
unlikelymordant
We are not losing it, it is changing polarity ("flipping"). It may be reduced
for a short time while the flip happens. It has happened many times before.

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mangeletti
As a short-term solution, I propose iron credits. I'll launch the yellow
revolution, whereupon concerned citizens will send our non-profit organization
of care some money. I will use this money to plant fields of corn, which will
be used to produce bioplastic, which will in turn replace the use of iron (the
ferrous metal that started all of this mayhem in the first place) world-wide.

The long-term solution is to place a tax on iron. This price chart
([https://bitly.com/Wa4lD3](https://bitly.com/Wa4lD3)) illustrates an increase
in demand for iron. A simple 41.3% tax on iron and iron-based products and on
the income of all global citizens and companies that use at least 1 product
that contains iron or is made by a company that used something containing iron
to produce it will promote responsible and sustainable manufacturing
practices. If we don't act now, it'll be too late. Polarity shift levels have
risen over 3 inches in the past year alone, and our independent and
intelligent panel of scientists estimates that a shift of more than 6 inches
over the next 100 years will set us back to the stone age.

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outrightfree
Very minor nitpicky grammar point: "... the Swarm satellites — three separate
satellites floating in tandem."

Can three things operate in tandem?

~~~
lotsofcows
No. Tandem also implies one behind the other which, even in the context of an
orbit, doesn't make much sense.

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heroku
does this mean earth is going to rotate backwards, just like it says in the
holy bible?

~~~
TeMPOraL
There is no such thing written anywhere in the Bible.

~~~
stephencanon
"Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in
the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees,
by which degrees it was gone down.” (Isaiah 38:8)

~~~
TeMPOraL
I completely forgot about that passage. However it was only God playing
astronomy tricks _to make a particular point_ ; I don't recall any case where
there is written that the Earth is supposed to start rotating backwards in the
future (or the Sun going in the other direction, etc.)

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dreamweapon
The Preppers are going to really flip over this.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepper)

