WEBVTT - Could a Solar Flare Wipe Out Earth's Electronics? 0:00:01.840 --> 0:00:07.720 Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey, Brainstuff florin 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:12.440 vogelbamb here. The Sun makes almost all life as we 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:15.640 know it on Earth possible, but there's still a lot 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:19.759 we don't understand about this miasma of incandescent plasma. As 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:23.560 the band they might be giants have put it, for example, 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:28.520 exactly how powerful are its magnetic storms. Could a solar 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:31.000 flare or other event on the surface of the Sun 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:34.760 affect us here on Earth. Here's what we do know. 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:39.479 The Sun is a massive object comprised of intensely hot 0:00:39.680 --> 0:00:44.360 ionized gases. We call this kind of gas plasma, and 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:46.639 it's the most common state of matter in the universe. 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:49.840 The atoms that make up the gases in the Sun 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:53.000 are so hot that they can't hold on to their electrons. 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:57.720 The gases flowing currents through the Sun, carrying electrons with them. 0:00:59.040 --> 0:01:02.160 If you're at all familiar with electromagnets, you know that 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:06.400 an electrical current can create a magnetic field. That's the 0:01:06.400 --> 0:01:10.080 case with the Sun. The Sun has an enormous magnetic 0:01:10.080 --> 0:01:13.560 field around it. The rotation of the Sun perpetuates this 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:18.759 magnetic field. To make matters more complicated, Hot objects tend 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:22.360 to expand, and the Sun is an extremely hot object. 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:25.920 But the Sun is also large and dense, which means 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:30.319 it has a strong gravitational pull. The Sun's gravity balances 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:35.000 out its tendency to expand the combination of these forces 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:38.120 can cause the Sun's surface to change in dramatic and 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:42.720 sometimes violent ways. The currents of gas can cause magnetic 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:47.000 field lines to twist that can prevent hotter gases from 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:51.000 the Sun's core from rising to the surface, creating sun spots. 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.800 The sunspots are cooler and darker than the areas that 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:59.960 surround them. The hot gas trapped beneath sunspots exerts pressure 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.040 on the magnetic field lines, which can wind them into 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:08.960 even tighter coils. Sometimes more field lines become entangled. Once 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:12.080 in a while, the magnetic field lines will uncoil without 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:15.240 much incident, and the sunspot will fade as the hot 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:20.360 gases rise again to the surface. But sometimes the pressure 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:24.560 continues to build until the magnetic field lines snap out suddenly, 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:29.799 causing a solar flare. A solar flare isn't just an 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:33.760 explosion of hot gases. It pushes out waves all across 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:38.359 the electromagnetic spectrum that includes visible light that we can 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:41.800 see and types of waves that we can't, including X 0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:47.880 rays and gamma rays. These can be dangerous to humans. Fortunately, 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:52.720 our atmosphere absorbs most high energy rays like this, but 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:55.360 that's not to say everyone is in the clear after 0:02:55.400 --> 0:02:59.480 a solar flare. Humans in space or at high altitudes 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:04.200 on an airplane, for example, could risk exposure to intense radiation. 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:09.720 Short term damage could include skin irritation. Long term consequences 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:14.160 might include an increased risk of developing skin cancer, but 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:17.799 it's likely that any affected human would eventually recover from 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:23.360 the exposure. Electronics are also vulnerable to these rays. If 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:25.919 high energy rays were to hit a satellite, they could 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:30.960 strip electrons from the metal components, ionizing them. As electrons 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:34.440 break free, they could short out the electronics within the satellite. 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:37.800 They could also create a magnetic field that would damage 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:42.200 the satellite systems. Some satellites do have shielding to protect 0:03:42.240 --> 0:03:46.640 them from these rays, but many are vulnerable because Earth's 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:51.040 atmosphere absorbs most of these dangerous rays. Terrestrial electronics are 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:56.280 fairly safe from solar flares, but another type of solar event, 0:03:56.560 --> 0:04:01.440 called a coronal mass ejection or CME, cause serious problems. 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:05.480 For electrical systems here on Earth. During a CME, the 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:09.160 fluctuations of the Sun's magnetic fields cause a large portion 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:12.640 of the surface of the Sun to expand rapidly, ejecting 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:17.719 billions of tons of particles out into space. Sometimes CMEs 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:22.039 accompany solar flares, but not all solar flares produce CMEs, 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:26.000 and not all CMEs happen in the company of solar flares. 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:31.000 Unlike a solar flare, a coronal mass ejection doesn't produce 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:35.320 intense light, but it does produce a magnetic shockwave that 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:39.720 extends billions of miles out into space. If Earth is 0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:43.240 in the path of that shockwave, our planet's magnetic field 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:47.240 will react to the event. It's similar to what happens 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:49.880 if you put a weak magnet next to a strong one. 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:53.400 The weak magnets field will align itself to these strong 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:57.560 magnets field. A magnetic shockwave from the Sun could cause 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:02.960 the alignment of Earth's magnetic field to shift unpredictably. The 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:06.400 Northern and Southern lights are observable examples of how a 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:11.120 CME can affect the Earth. These colorful lights result from 0:05:11.160 --> 0:05:15.560 subatomic particles moving at incredible speed, which causes gases like 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:20.080 oxygen and nitrogen to ionize in our atmosphere. As the 0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:23.800 atoms in the gases recombine with electrons, they emit light. 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:28.840 This mainly happens where Earth's magnetic field lines converge at 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:33.480 the planet's magnetic poles. Pretty lights aren't the only consequence 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:37.279 from a CME, but exactly how badly off could we 0:05:37.400 --> 0:05:42.320 be after such an event. Coronal mass ejections have affected 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.800 the Earth in the past. In eighteen fifty nine, a 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:50.279 CME caused enormous fluctuations in the Earth's magnetosphere the magnetic 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:54.080 fields surrounding the planet. People living as far south as 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:59.320 Cuba witnessed the Northern lights phenomenon. The magnetic fluctuations caused 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:04.040 compasses and telegraph systems to fail. At the time, scientists 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:07.039 and academics debated the cause of all the commotion, though 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:09.880 we now recognize it as a CME so massive that 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:14.640 it caused what we call a solar superstorm. Today, we 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:18.560 depend much more heavily upon electronics and electricity in general 0:06:18.720 --> 0:06:22.320 than we did in eighteen fifty nine. If a similar 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:25.480 solar superstorm were to hit us now, we'd be in 0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:31.279 trouble because magnetic fields can induce electricity. Any conductor could 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:36.040 become an inductor, a meaning a powerful CME could induce 0:06:36.080 --> 0:06:40.760 electricity in any large powerful conductor of electricity like power 0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:45.960 transformers and the power grid itself, that could overload electrical 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:50.520 systems and cause massive damage. The power grid in North 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:54.719 America operates at near capacity. It wouldn't be able to 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:59.200 handle the increased electrical load from a solar superstorm. A 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:03.960 power could sag and even snap. As a result, massive 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:07.839 power outages could affect much of the continent. The magnetic 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:11.960 fluctuations would interfere with radio signals and communication and satellite 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:16.320 systems could go offline. It could take weeks or months 0:07:16.360 --> 0:07:19.760 to repair the damage. During that time, people would have 0:07:19.880 --> 0:07:22.000 no way to find out what was going on other 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:27.040 than sheer word of mouth. Emergency services would face serious challenges. 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:31.640 While the magnetic fields would probably not short out individual 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:36.520 electronic devices like cell phones or computers, communications systems could 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:40.920 fail regionally. In other words, small devices would still work, 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:44.240 but would lack the services they require to be useful. 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:48.440 It is possible that a coronal mass ejection could affect 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:52.280 your computer and cause glitches. In most cases, a simple 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:55.520 reboot would solve the problem, but with the loss of 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.280 the power grid, you'd be limited by your batteries charge, 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:02.680 and once that ran out, you'd be stuck. There's no 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:06.400 way to prevent a solar superstorm, but there are steps 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:09.960 we can take to limit the impact of a CME. A. 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:14.240 One is to overhaul the power grid system. We need 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:17.520 a smart grid that isn't operating so close to capacity 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.520 as our current grid is. We also need to develop 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:24.560 shielding to protect our electrical infrastructure from magnetic fluctuations as 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:29.320 much as possible. However, even in the worst case scenarios, 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:33.600 superstorms wouldn't wipe out all electrical systems across the planet. 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:38.720 Some regions would remain relatively unaffected. It would require a 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:42.120 solar event of unprecedented magnitude to wipe out all the 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:46.720 electronics on Earth, but even a modest coronal mass ejection 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:50.280 could demonstrate just how vulnerable we are to the Sun's 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:58.440 magnetic temper tantrums. Today's episode is based on the article 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:02.040 could an extremely powerful soul flair destroy all the electronics 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:05.640 on Earth? On HowStuffWorks dot com, written by Jonathan Strickland. 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:08.600 To hear more from Jonathan, check out his podcast Large 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:12.960 nerdron Collider. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:15.559 with HowStuffWorks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:19.360 Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:22.480 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.