Telset.id, Jakarta – Can the most powerful solar storm wipe out the internet like in Becky Chambers’ 2019 novel “To Be Taught, If Fortunate”?
In reading, the most powerful solar storm sweeps away the internet on Earth. A group of astronauts are stuck in space with no possibility of calling home.
The prospect is frightening. The question is, can solar storms really paralyze the internet in the real life of humanity on our planet?
The answer is yes, it can. However, according to Mathew Owens, a solar physicist at the University of Reading in the UK, it takes a giant solar storm for this to happen.
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“You really need a big solar storm to do that, which isn’t impossible,” Owens said Live science.
“But I think it is more likely that the electricity grid will be shut down. This phenomenon occurred on a small scale, “he said The phoneSunday (9/10/2022).
Solar storms, also known as space weather, occur when the Sun continuously or intensely emits bursts of electromagnetic radiation.
The disturbance releases waves of energy that move outward, impacting other objects in the solar system, including the Earth that humans live on.
When they suddenly diverge and interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, the electromagnetic waves will have some effect or impact.
First, Owens says, electromagnetic waves cause electric currents to flow in the earth’s upper atmosphere, heating the air like an electric blanket works.
These geomagnetic storms can create beautiful auroras that appear in the polar regions, but they can also interfere with radio signals and GPS navigation systems.
When the atmosphere heats up, it swells like Marshmallowadding further resistance to satellites in low earth orbit, dropping space junk.
Other space weather impacts are more terrestrial. When a strong electric current flows through our planet’s upper atmosphere, a strong current is induced to flow through the earth’s crust.
This can interfere with electrical conductors above the earth’s crust, such as the transmission line network that carries electricity to homes and buildings.
The result is local power outages that are difficult to repair. The event hit Quebec on March 13, 1989, causing a 12-hour blackout.
Recently, a solar flare knocked out 40 Starlink satellites when SpaceX failed to check space weather forecasts. Fortunately, global Internet access isn’t chaotic.
To completely shut down the internet, solar storms would have to disrupt the ultra-long fiber optic cables that run under the oceans and connect the continents.
Every 50 kilometers to 145 kilometers, the cable is equipped repeater to boost the signal as it moves, but not be susceptible to geomagnetic storms.
If one repeater off, enough to drop the entire cable. If there are enough cables disconnectedthe Internet apocalypse will be experienced by people on Earth.
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A global internet blackout could be catastrophic, disrupting everything from supply chains to medical systems, stock markets to communications.
There are several ways to protect the internet from major solar storms. First, to support the power grid, satellite and submarine cables are not overloaded.
A second, less expensive way to tackle this problem is to find a better method. The goal is to predict long-term solar storms. [SN/HBS]
