Apparent near miss in 2012 of CME

[k0ua]

I heard this morning that we missed having another Carrington Event in July of 2012 by two days. We apparently did not realize that the CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) that was not pointed at the earth was so severe. They claim it was of the intensity of the 1859 Carrington Event. Of course if it hit us, I would likely not be typing this little informative scare piece. So we dodged a bullet, again. Some day it will happen. Fortunately it was not pointed at the earth this time.

Solar storm of 1859 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[/pine]

The big question is will NASA (fed. Gov.) be able to get a "solar shield" operable any time soon ?

 

[dave1949]

Gosh, CNN missed-out on some sensationalism there LOL.

Jokes aside, interesting stuff. I assume compared to telegraph sparks in 1859, the effects will be a lot more devastating next time.

 

[/pine]

...will be a lot more devastating next time...

just about anything with any type of PCB will be toast...!

 

[dave1949]

just about anything with any type of PCB will be toast...!

Are pace makers and things like auto insulin injectors shielded I wonder? I would think a pace maker has some shielding but have no idea.

 

[k0ua]

Are pace makers and things like auto insulin injectors shielded I wonder? I would think a pace maker has some shielding but have no idea.

Those will probably survive, but civilization may not. All the transformers in the power grid will be fused. Some folks claim in 1859 that railroad rails arced over.. Not that seems hard to believe, but I wasn't there. One thing for sure, it will happen quick , we wont be able to call for help, and no help will come for years. Hopefully the folks on the other side of the earth will be able to help the affected side build more transformers and get the power grid up and running again, but the conservative estimates are 2 years minimum. Just think, no power grid for 2 years. No telecommunications. Those of you will solar systems are liable to lose everything also. There are questions on whether cars will run, some say no. Think of a big CME as about the same as a huge nuclear EMP high altitude burst only on a much bigger scale.. You guys can research these things yourself. (google Starfish Prime) but it is somewhat scary. And some of you wonder why people hoard .22 cartridges.

 

[dave1949]

What about pipelines and things like gas stations? Lots of stuff around a typical gas station with electronics that could spark or flame.

Is this effect like an electromagnetic wave that will induce current flow in conductors with crossing lines of force?

 

[charlz]

Those will probably survive, but civilization may not. All the transformers in the power grid will be fused. Some folks claim in 1859 that railroad rails arced over.. Not that seems hard to believe, but I wasn't there. One thing for sure, it will happen quick , we wont be able to call for help, and no help will come for years. Hopefully the folks on the other side of the earth will be able to help the affected side build more transformers and get the power grid up and running again, but the conservative estimates are 2 years minimum.

From what I understand when talking about other countries building transformers for other countries the 50hz versus 60hz issue comes into play. You can run 50hz transformers at 60hz but you can't run 60hz transformers at 50hz due to heating issues. In the transformer manufacturing space if that is a re-tooling type issue it could bump that 2-year time frame out quite a bit.

 

[texasjohn]

CME, asteroid hits, world wide pandemic, I can't keep track of all the ways the world is going to end...I really need a complete list along with probability...

I found these list attempts

List of natural disasters by death toll - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ten Global Calamities

Amazing lists

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I heard this morning that we missed having another Carrington Event in July of 2012 by two days.

Relatively speaking, it would not be impossibly expensive to protect our power grid. Politicians have had ample warning, and ample opportunity, to do so. So far nothing but negligence and incompetence.

"IF/When" this happens - or, most likely a terrorist EMP, we will see total chaos and massive death. Imagine waking up tomorrow and having the power grid infrastructure of the year 1900, or worse. The implications are beyond comprehension.

I suppose the question for us is this; Do we want to commit national suicide "slowly" by ignoring our borders, or do we want to kill ourselves on a faster and grander scale?