Our earth has a magnetic field due to the liquid conducting outer core that’s compromised
of iron and nickel.
Through a phenomenon known as geomagnetic reversal, the magnetic poles of planets can
switch.
The earth has undergone hundreds of pole switches over the course of history.
It happens when iron atoms in earths core become reverse aligned.
When these patches of reversed iron atoms become so prominent that they are more common
in the core, earths entire magnetic field flips.
The last time the poles flopped, it was close to a million years ago, 781 thousand years
to be exact.
And many experts believe that the earth’s magnetic poles are about to flip again.
So what will happen if they do?
That’s exactly the question we are going to answer, right now on Life’s Biggest Questions.
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Geophysicists still don’t know for sure why the poles flip.
But they do know that it has something to do with instability in earth’s metallic
outer core.
Scientists know that the earth’s poles flipped 780 thousand years ago through volcanic rocks.
Before this, the magnetic north pole was actually what is now the south pole.
When the magnetic poles flip, north becomes south, and south becomes north.
But a lot more will happen than just compasses pointing south.
In fact, many say that the poles flipping could mean the end of the world as we know
it.
According to Jean Pierre Valet, an expert on geomagnetic reversals at the Institute
of Earth Physics in Paris, the most dramatic change we will see is a large decrease of
the total field intensity.
Which is another way of saying our magnetic field is going to become a lot weaker before
it realigns.
In case you didn’t know, the earth’s magnetic field is very important.
It protects us from deadly solar winds.
A weak field could also lead to the formation of ozone holes.
Ozone holes can form when solar particles engage in chemical reactions with the particles
in our atmosphere.
The increased x rays and gamma rays that get through the holes in the ozone layer also
might make parts of the earth uninhabitable.
According to earths geologic record, the earths poles have flipped many times.
Valet linked the extinction of the Neanderthals, one of our close ancestor, to the effects
of the last geomagnetic reversal.
To be clear, the last geomagnetic reversal did not end up happening.
What I mean by that is, the field weakened around 40 thousand years ago, but the pole
flip did not occur.
It was aborted.
The scientific community is actually conflicted about whether or not theres a connection between
pole reversals and species extintions.
What is mostly certain, is that the technology we rely on so much will be affected by this
pole flip.
We already know that solar winds can wreak havoc on earth.
They damage power grids, satellites and they interrupt radio transmissions.
There was a catastrophic solar storm that hit the earth in 1859, known as the Carrington
Event.
This occurred just as humans had laid down telegraphic wires, and when the solar storm
hit, the radiation caused the wires to burst into flames.
Another extreme solar storm erupted from the sun in 2012, but thankfully the earth was
not facing that part of the sun.
If it was even 10 days earlier in the year, the earth would have felt the effects.
Power structures would have been knocked out for years, possibly even decades.
This basically means prolongued black outs.
Of course, biological life doesn’t necessarily need technology to survive, but well…it’ll
be hard.
We live in a technological society.
A pole flip could result in no satellites, no internet, no smartphones and no power.
So how likely is it that this is going to happen?
Experts say that they believe there is proof to suggest that the earth’s poles could
flip soon.
The evidence has to do with changes in the geomagnetic field...mainly, the fact that
it’s getting weaker.
Over the last 160 years, the strength of the field has been weakening at a quote, alarming
rate, about 5 percent per decade, which is why so many experts believe that the poles
are about to flip.
The process of a pole flip is quite long.
It takes anywhere between 1000 to 10 thousand years.
And like the last time there was a weakening of the field, the pole flip was actually aborted,
and it didn’t end up happening.
That being said, the poles have flipped every couple hundred thousand years, so by that
number, we are actually overdue for a pole flip.
Nasa wants everyone to know that a pole flip is normal.
They have always occurred and they will continue to occur in the future.
That being said, it is likely the pole flip will occur while humans are on planet earth,
and life for those humans following a pole flip will likely be drastically differen than
the life we know now.
A life where humans live without dependence on technology.
Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
For now, I’m charlotte dobre and you’ve been watching life’s biggest questions.
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