Is solar storm radiation dangerous to us?

1. 81

   cyoung35posted 12 years ago

   Is solar storm radiation dangerous to us?
   
   

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2. 60

   ratnaveeraposted 12 years ago

   NASA is telling that we don't need to fear about solar storm 2012. The scientists are saying that Ozone layer will be damaged due to this oncoming solar flare and it'll cause damage to satellites also. So, the communication will be affected.  However, there would no chances for Tsunamis and Earthquakes.

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3. 0

   scottcgruberposted 12 years ago

   If you are an astronaut, pilot, or flight attendant, it can be, as it could expose you to dangerous ionizing radiation. It's not much of a danger to people on the ground, but for some dropped cell phone calls. Earth's magnetosphere keeps most of the charged particles away.

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4. 67

   claudiafoxposted 12 years ago

   
   
   Not this one. It missed the Earth.
   But it seems another one has started. The Sun is in a kind of Sun spot frenzy this week.
   Space weather refers to violent transfers of matter and energy from the sun to the Earth. 
   These happen in cycles - about 11 and 22 years. We are in the middle of a 11 year pulse, right now.
   The Sun has lots of sunspots right now - magnetic loops. Create I think by orbital relationships with the planets, the Sun and Jupiter, probably. (Which orbit around each other)
   S ometimes those magnetic loops on the Sun - Sun spots -  unravel and spiral into space.
   Some times the energy surges over the Earth.
   Some times they connect with the Earth. 
   The energy flows along magnetic field lines around the Earth. These surges create auroras at the poles.    (Some great auroras this week).
   Sometimes big surges - coronal mass ejections or CMEs - can find a "hole" in Earths’s own magnetic field, and will connect with the Earth. 
   Then, electricity may flow through the Earth and looks for an exit point. Weird things happen>
   In 1882,  balls of lightning appeared. Metal connections melted. Lights glowed when they were not switched on.  Blackouts spread.
   The earth current can flow into electricity transmission systems, gas and water pipelines, telecommunication cables and railroads. 
   At worst the surge may kill satellites, kill any space-walking astronaut, disable millions of mobile phones, GPS navigation, credit cards,  computers, aeroplanes.  It can blackout a whole electricity grid. This has happened several times. Most grid manager have installed capacitors to stop this problem. But the surge can fry a big transformer. A 100-ton electricity transformer the size of a house can go into vibration and heat melt-down called magnetostriction.
   This once happened in a nuclear plant.
   So the burst of energy from the Sun may create electrical currents in the earth called geomagnetically induced currents (GIC). 
   Some times the surge from the Sun flows in to the earth. This is called an earth current.   
   The surges from the Sun also increase the density of the atmosphere. This density change appears before some large earthquakes.
   Animals and insects may get confused because  over millions of years life has evolved to use the magnetic reference points.
     Birds, and insects use magnetic orientation  to migrate.  Monarch butterflies for example, make an annual southward migration to Mexico. They use magnetic orientation.

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