[SunkenCiv]

Anomalies hint at magnetic pole flip
by Nicola Jones
New Scientist
10 April 02

...the way minerals are aligned in ancient rock shows that the planet's magnetic dipole occasionally disappears altogether, leaving a much more complicated field with many poles all over the planet. When the dipole comes back into force, the north and south poles can swap places... Journal reference: Nature (vol 416, p 620)

for those interested in Earth's magnetic field, the current (rimshot!) issue of Scientific American has a cover story. By an odd coincidence, I saw that at the store on the way home and picked it up; then I saw this laugh-fest.

[SunkenCiv]

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