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Oh here comes the Sun!
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While technology has allowed for a bunch of cool things in the world, humanity is pretty
reliant on it now.
So just what would happen to Earth if you had some sort of giant electrical problem?
Well, that depends somewhat on what causes it — if the disturbance came from natural
causes or if it was directly caused by people.
The more natural way that this could happen is with a severe geomagnetic disturbance,
or GMD.
This is what people are talking about when they refer to the dangers of solar storms
and coronal mass ejections, which are essentially when the Sun spews out plasma that, along
with its embedded magnetic field, can reach Earth.
This can cause currents all the way down on the surface of the planet, you know, where
the electrical grid is.
We’re talking everything from overheated transformers, to damaged undersea cables,
not to mention the satellites that could have been messed up along the way.
But you don’t need the Sun to cause electrical havok.
Electromagnetic pulses, or EMPs, can be caused by man-made devices, most notably the nuclear
kind.
While other non-nuclear equipment can cause EMPs, the nuclear devices impose a far greater
danger, especially when detonated at a high-altitude.
This causes what’s known as a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, or HEMP.
These types of EMPs have effects on a larger scale than surface-level pulses, and, according
to the US Department of Homeland Security, HEMPs are the most concerning because they
can permanently damage or disable big sections of the national electric grid and other critical
infrastructure control systems.
And unlike other pulses, nuclear HEMP events can be broken down into three distinct waveforms.
The first one, the E1 pulse, is a fast, but intense pulse that can quickly induce dangerously
high voltages in electrical conductors.
The second wave, the E2 pulse, is similar to the currents caused by nearby lightning
strikes, being longer and much lower in amplitude than the E1 pulse.
The third wave, the E3 pulse, is by far the longest of the pulses, with its effects being
rather similar to solar geomagnetic effects.
So quite a lot is at risk!
Generally, any electronics that aren’t designed to be protected against extreme HEMP or
GMD events could be in danger to some degree, whether directly or indirectly.
To get more into the specifics, according to the US Department of Energy, a GMD and
the E3 waves of a HEMP are going to put similar equipment and technologies at risk.
For both, transformers and protective relays are going to be in danger.
However, the additional phases of the E1 and E2 waves of a HEMP are also going to put further
telecommunications at risk, as well as other electronics and control systems, relays, power
lines, and tower structures.
Now, you’ll likely have some strategic warning of a GMD, anywhere from around 18 hours to
a few days, but a HEMP could potentially happen without any real warning.
Which is an important detail, because if we know something like this is coming, we could
theoretically shut down our devices and transformers to help minimize damage and protect against
short circuiting.
It’s kinda like unplugging your electronics during a lightning storm, only this time the
world’s power grid is at stake rather than just, you know, saving the data on your Blockbox.
This isn’t a simple fix by any means, but a heads up could drastically reduce the time
you’d have to take to deal with the aftereffects.
Of course, continuing to develop better strategies to handle these events from the top down will
also go a long way, as well designing and implementing heartier tech.
so before a solar flare comes to destroy your hard drive, maybe upload some of your photos
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So do you think you could live in a society without any electronics?
Let me know in the comment section below, or tell us, what should we talk about next?
As always my name is Blocko!
This has been Life Noggin!
Don’t forget to keep on thinking.