The sun’s gasses and plasma swirl like currents in the ocean. Suddenly, an orbiting NASA satellite
records a black mass thousands of times the size of the Earth. The satellite sends an
ominous warning signal back to its homeworld: solar storm imminent; prepare for blackout.
It takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds for the message to reach Earth. By the time it arrives,
it’s too late. A massive ejection of radiation, electromagnetic waves, and high-energy particles
is about to slam into Earth, and when it hits, a full-on apocalypse could commence.
At least, that is what some conspiracy theorists and doomsayers would have you believe on the
internet. The reality of what has been named the Internet Apocalypse is much different than
the nonsense that has been spewed across the World Wide Web recently. Is the Earth in danger of being
hit by solar storms in the future? Absolutely, it actually happens more frequently than you
might think, and there is always a risk that the sun will release a solar flare or mass coronal
ejection that could hit Earth. Will this solar event send us back to the stone age? Probably not.
Let’s take a more in-depth look at what scientists and experts have to say about
the imminent Internet Apocalypse and its effects on the world. Even though the
fantastical claims you will find on the internet when researching this topic are mostly untrue,
there is some cause for alarm. A strong solar storm could knock out electricity grids and,
with it, internet access across the planet. As a species, we rely heavily on the internet for
everything from communicating with one another to more vital things such as banking. The Internet
Apocalypse may not destroy civilization but could cause some serious problems.
We’re first going to go over the scenario that has led an alarming number of people
to believe the world will end in the next year or two. Then we will explain why this
is unlikely to happen but why there is still cause for concern. We can only hope that you
watch this video before the Internet Apocalypse commences. Otherwise, you won’t be prepared.
In this hypothetical doomsday scenario, the perfect series of events would need to occur
within and around the surface of the sun. A giant superstorm is ejected from the star
and heads straight toward Earth. The high energy particles and electromagnetic waves slam into our
planet’s magnetic field, causing brilliant displays of the Aurora Borealis and Aurora
Australis across the planet. Unfortunately, the immense amount of electromagnetic waves
penetrate Earth’s protective field and rip through the infrastructure of our society.
One moment the world is in the Age of Digital Information, the next, it’s back to the Stone Age.
Most living things, including humans, are unaffected by the solar storm,
but people who rely on pacemakers or heart monitors could be in trouble. That being said,
any organism that uses the Earth’s magnetic field as a means to navigate,
such as birds and sea turtles, becomes lost. Every electronic device on the planet has been
fried by the solar storm. Without the internet, the world plunges into chaos. People don’t know
how to act without their faces glued to a screen. Anarchy breaks out, and due to the
fact that the electrical infrastructure of every major city on the planet has been overloaded,
getting everyone under control becomes a huge challenge. This is what has been dubbed
the Internet Apocalypse by many online. But now let’s examine exactly where the term came from,
what it means, and if we are actually at risk of being thrown back into the analog era.
Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi is a computer science professor at the University of California
Irvine. She wrote a paper in 2021 entitled “Solar Superstorms: Planning for an Internet
Apocalypse.” The paper itself was a means for Jyothi to examine how ready the planet is for
a disaster that may disrupt access to the internet. This paper was meant to be a tool
for other academics in her field to help them consider the consequences of a major internet
outage and the steps governments and companies should take to mitigate these problems if a
solar storm or some other form of disruption in connectivity were to occur in the future.
The paper was not supposed to be seen as a prediction of an imminent doomsday scenario.
Jyothi has even said she regrets using the term “internet apocalypse” in her title as
it brought far too much attention to the paper, especially from groups of people
who misunderstood her work or didn’t even bother to read it and used her writing as
fuel to spread their messages of misinformation about the world coming to an end. This all came
to a head in March of 2023 when internet sleuths stumbled upon an article published
by NASA that included information gathered by the Parker Solar Probe, which was launched in
2018. This satellite orbits the sun to collect data on the physics and atmosphere of our star.
Scientists published new data provided by the Parker Solar Probe about solar winds,
which were discovered to be the result of a natural phenomenon known as “magnetic
reconnection.” Typically changes in the sun happen slowly over long periods of time. However,
magnetic reconnection is a sudden change that can result in a burst of energy. This information was
then misconstrued and incorporated into the rants of conspiracy theorists and people on
the internet. They stated that NASA was using artificial intelligence to predict when solar
superstorms would strike Earth. The conclusion of these misinformed personalities was that there was
an impending Internet Apocalypse, and the world would be hurtled back into the stone age because
of it. Needless to say, none of these things were mentioned in the original NASA report.
These conspiracy theories quickly spread and began to use a peer-reviewed research paper that
suggested the sun’s solar maximum, or the time period when it’s most active, will occur in 2024,
one year earlier than previously predicted. This again sent the internet into a frenzy as
the coming apocalypse was now just around the corner. And although scientists do
believe that the number of solar storms will increase in the next couple of years, there
is no evidence to suggest that a solar superstorm will knock out the entire internet anytime soon.
So, is there any truth to the claims that there is an imminent Internet Apocalypse? Surprisingly,
yes, but before we can discuss what future solar events may hold for our planet,
we need to understand what a solar storm is and what damage it can cause. Even though it
likely wouldn’t lead to an apocalypse in the same way that conspiracy theorists on
the internet would have you believe, there are still some major concerns
that scientists have about solar storms and how they could impact our society.
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections can cause solar storms at any moment. These are
two different types of eruptions that occur on the surface of the sun. Both result in
humungous explosions of energy and can happen simultaneously or independently
of one another. However, each event emits different things. A solar flare
releases magnetic energy along with photons at almost every wavelength of the spectrum,
while a coronal mass ejection releases gas and magnetic fields.
The sun goes through a cycle that is about 11 years long, where its activity becomes more
frequent and intense before slowing down until the next solar maximum. Since the sun is not solid,
it rotates faster around its equator than at its poles. It’s this difference in rotational speeds
that cause the sun’s magnetic fields to bend and energy to build up. Oftentimes, scientists
explain what is happening on the surface of the sun as being analogous to a rubber band.
As different regions of the sun rotate at different speeds, the magnetic fields begin to
twist like a rubber band. The tension builds and builds until the rubber band snaps. On the sun,
this snapping of the electrical fields results in solar flares,
which are the largest explosions in our solar system and can release
electromagnetic energy that reaches the Earth in just over 8 minutes.
What has the internet concerned is that our sun is estimated to reach its next solar maximum
within a year or two. But it’s important to remember that only 10 or so years ago,
the sun was also at its solar maximum, and we are still here today. Scientists are seeing more sun
spots, which are indicative of ejections and the twisting of the sun’s magnetic fields.
It’s estimated that there can be as many as 2,000 solar flares in the sun’s 11-year cycle,
but since they happen across the entire surface of the star, not all will cross Earth’s path.
Scientists also warn that although solar storms are more common during the solar maximum,
extreme solar events can happen at any point in the cycle, so in reality,
the planet isn’t in much more danger in the next two years than it is at any other point in time.
So, what happens when these high-energy particles and electromagnetic waves do reach Earth? Solar
radiation, waves, and particles are passing by Earth almost all the time. This is why the Aurora
Borealis in the northern hemisphere and the Aurora Australis in the southern hemisphere can be seen
pretty much all year round. However, problems arise when there is an abundance of high-energy
particles and electromagnetic energy as a result of a massive solar flare or coronal mass ejection.
When this happens, a solar storm forms that can slam into the outermost layer of the Earth’s
atmosphere, known as the ionosphere. When the ionosphere is impacted by a strong solar storm,
it can cause a degradation in high-frequency radio signals. This is a problem because it can
cause planes flying near the poles to lose their radios and navigation. Depending on how strong
the solar storm is, the disruption could last anywhere from minutes to hours, which isn’t a
big deal for the rest of the planet, but for the pilots, it would be an unnerving period of time.
But what about exceptionally strong solar storms? Scientists know that if strong
electromagnetic waves and high-energy particles impact Earth’s atmosphere,
it can actually change the shape of the planet’s electromagnetic field.
This could have a detrimental effect on spacecraft such as satellites, ships,
and the International Space Station. Down on Earth, the electrical currents in the atmosphere
caused by the solar storm could be picked up by conductors within power grids across the planet.
If this were to happen, the power infrastructure around the world could be compromised,
leading to large-scale blackouts and outages. This would, in turn,
technically lead to a type of Internet Apocalypse where when the power infrastructure went down,
no one would be able to access the Internet. However, the servers would likely be connected
to backup generators and, since most are housed deep underground, would be unharmed
by the solar storm. Once the power came back online, the world would once again have
internet access at their fingertips. However, restoring power may be easier said than done.
If the solar storm were strong enough to overload conductors and cause massive power outages,
the collateral damage would be extensive. It could take weeks or even months to
bring major power grids such as New York City, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo,
and every other major metropolis back online. This means people would be without power and
without any way to receive communications other than by written or verbal word. This poses a
significant problem for areas that might be in the thralls of winter or experiencing intense weather.
When we think about how reliant we have become on electronics,
the thought of losing power to a solar storm is a frightening proposition. If the power grid went
down as a result of a solar superstorm, hospitals would need to run off backup
generators until the problem was resolved. Cars and other vehicles would still work,
but traffic lights would be out, and GPS would be non-existent. Communication between
emergency responders and those who need help would also be severely inhibited. An intense
solar storm might not cause the apocalypse, but it would certainly lead to injuries and deaths.
It’s important to note that major solar storms have hit Earth in the past,
and some yielded significant damage. For example,
the solar storm known as the Carrington Event occurred in 1859 and resulted in a surge of
power through telegraph lines that caused the wires to spark and even electrocuted operators.
This solar storm caused the Aurora Borealis to descend as far south as Jamaica. In 1989
another solar storm overloaded the Quebec power grid, plunging the city into darkness
for hours. Then in 2012, scientists reported that a massive solar storm just missed Earth.
The difference between the solar storms of the past and the impact such an event would have on
our planet today is that we are much more reliant on electronics than ever before. 1989 might not
seem like that long ago, but we have to remember that the internet really didn’t become mainstream
until 1995, and the first iPhone didn’t hit markets until 2007. The human species is much
more reliant on electronics and electrical power now than at any point in the past,
which is why a powerful solar superstorm could have devastating consequences for our planet.
Scientists and researchers also warn that even though we have become extremely reliant
on electronics and technology, we have failed to thoroughly test much of our infrastructure to see
how it would respond to an event such as a solar storm. These conditions can be simulated in labs,
yet, companies and governments have not considered the damage that a strong solar
storm could do to their power grids and operations that rely heavily on electrical components. In a
worst-case scenario, parts of the world could be left without electricity or internet for
extended periods of time. It’s estimated that such a power outage in the United States would
cause the economy to lose 11 billion dollars every day that the power grid was offline.
What it comes down to is that a solar superstorm could cause some serious damage
and lead to chaos on our planet. However, it’s highly unlikely that such an event would bring
about the apocalypse. Yes, if the power grid went down, people would lose access to the internet,
but once the conductors and wires were repaired, electricity would be restored,
and people could once again access their favorite social media apps and websites.
That being said, the internet has become so ingrained in our daily lives that cutting people
off cold turkey could lead to some very real consequences. The internet can literally be a
drug. In some cases, the body releases dopamine, the pleasure hormone, when a person receives a
“like” on a post. This experience can be analogous to an addictive drug. Internet withdrawal is a
real thing, and although a solar superstorm is unlikely to lead to a global apocalypse,
it could feel like the end of the world to some people if they lose access to the Internet.
Now watch “The Last 60 Minutes Before Asteroid Impacts with Earth.” Or check
out “Why a Zombie Apocalypse Is Inevitable.”