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A Plan to Stop Solar Storms From Sending Us Back to the Stone Age
The Wall Street Journal ^ | July 10, 2026 8:00 am ET | Christopher Mims

Posted on 07/10/2026 12:56:21 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

StormWall, which involves school-bus-size satellites and a whole lot of salt, could provide an ionic ‘air bag’ for the Earth

It’s the year 2040, and the Big One—a civilization-smashing solar storm of a scale not seen since the 19th century—is on a collision course with Earth.

Far out in space, where geostationary satellites orbit, a half-dozen school-bus-size satellites crack open and start dumping barium, lithium or sodium. Within minutes, sunlight transforms this material into an ionized gas shield that slows the oncoming massive blob of plasma.

Down on our planet’s surface, a would-be global catastrophe—potentially knocking out entire electrical grids—is reduced to a nighttime display for anyone who cares to look up and see the Northern Lights.

Even its name, StormWall, sounds like science fiction, but authorities on space weather say it could work, mitigating an event that happens, they estimate, once a century. The trio of scientists who conceived of it say an international coalition could build such a system with existing or soon-to-arrive technology.

Back-of-the-envelope math suggests it could cost tens of billions of dollars. Yet with all of the electronics on Earth that increasingly govern our lives, and ever more infrastructure being put into orbit, from internet-delivering satellites to AI-training data centers, spending that much could be a no-brainer, says StormWall co-designer Brian Walsh, an associate professor of engineering at Boston University.

“A 100-year [solar] storm could cause huge power outages over entire continents,” says Walsh, adding that such an event could damage space-based data centers and missile-defense systems. “If the cost is less than sending people to the moon, and people do the math, it will make sense in the very near future,” he adds.

The solar wind

For decades, scientists have studied the interaction between the Earth’s protective magnetosphere—generated by its...


(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS:

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1 posted on 07/10/2026 12:56:21 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Very cool thought. One wonders about a screening experiment to validate both the principle and the deployment technologies.


2 posted on 07/10/2026 1:00:10 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Don’t be stupid and mess with mother nature.


3 posted on 07/10/2026 1:00:27 PM PDT by bobrlbob (I BELIEVE IN LAW AND ORDER. )
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

This is a system which might actually make sense.

Such a solar storm could actually be “The End Of The World As We Know It”

It is a sort of natural EMP.


4 posted on 07/10/2026 1:01:30 PM PDT by marktwain (----------------------)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

I don’t know why they always say ‘stone age’.

It would take us back a few hundred years.

(Which is kind of amazing when you think about it.)


5 posted on 07/10/2026 1:06:16 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Not expecting to be around for this one and not especially disappointed that I might miss it.

What could possibly go wrong? 🫣

... go wrong... ... go wrong.. ... go wrong.. ... go wrong.. ... go wrong..


6 posted on 07/10/2026 1:09:21 PM PDT by DJ Frisat (If I said something really stupid, chances are I was under the influence of AutoCorrect. 😉)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

For some real science about our Sun, check out the Parker Solar Probe. It has flown very close to the Sun dozens of times, collecting real data, real science. It has reached 430,000 miles per hour.

My favorite source for all things space-related is

Behindtheblack.com

Here are two Behindtheblack articles about the Parker Solar Probe

https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/parker-makes-28th-close-fly-by-of-the-sun/

https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/parker-confirms-it-gathered-science-data-during-its-record-breaking-solar-fly-by-on-december-24th/


7 posted on 07/10/2026 1:09:31 PM PDT by Ronaldus Magnus III (Do, or do not, there is no try. )
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Maybe it would be better to return to the stone age.


8 posted on 07/10/2026 1:10:36 PM PDT by GingisK
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To: DJ Frisat

I think a geomagnetic reversal will happen long before a cataclysmic solar storm.


9 posted on 07/10/2026 1:13:20 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Israel über alles.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum; FrogMom; dayglored; Conan the Librarian; McGruff; TornadoAlley3; Eagles6; ...
Ping Me When the Internet Goes Down ping

If anyone wants on or off the Ping Me When the Internet Goes Down pinglist, kindly FReepmail me. Thanks!

10 posted on 07/10/2026 1:13:27 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: bobrlbob

At first your comment made your comment made me laugh but you your 100 percent correct


11 posted on 07/10/2026 1:15:18 PM PDT by MAAG (The LORD does not choose sides, HE is a side.)
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To: Jamestown1630

It would cause a lot of young people to break their necks because they would be looking up for the first time in years. The shock to their systems would be horrific. By all means, throw salt on them.


12 posted on 07/10/2026 1:18:04 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Life without cat pix, porn, and chocolate chip cookie recipes is too grim to contemplate.


13 posted on 07/10/2026 1:18:27 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: Billthedrill
Life without cat pix, porn, and chocolate chip cookie recipes is too grim to contemplate.

"I think the survivors would envy the dead!"

14 posted on 07/10/2026 1:24:20 PM PDT by niteowl77
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

they are already dumping tonnes of barium and who knows what else in their chemtrails

there are all kinds of mitigation plans that could be taken on earth for much cheaper. Hell, Art Bell was talking about what they could do 25 years ago


15 posted on 07/10/2026 1:32:33 PM PDT by algore ( )
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To: marktwain

“It is a sort of natural EMP.”

No it is not. Learn your radiation types.

Would you wrap your LED light bulbs in aluminum foil to block “an electromagnetic radiation pulse” when you turn them on?

The dangerous EMP is a Gamma Ray Burst. Gamma rays are a vastly different type of radiation from alpha and beta particles given off by the sun via the solar wind. When the solar wind is big they call it a solar storm, flare, etc. It is the same source. The charged particles given off by the sun. The Key word is particles. They are easily shielded by the earth’s magnetic field, the atmosphere and overhead objects.

The article is talking about a solar storm of alpha and beta charged particles - not a gamma ray burst.

US electrical grids have been using solid state transformers since the 1960s. They can handle the overload of electrical charge from a solar storm easier than they handle a lightening strike. If they trip they can be reset via a radio signal. Lightening strikes cause millions of times more energy spikes to electrical grids than a ‘solar storm’.

Learn your electromagnetic radiation types.


16 posted on 07/10/2026 1:36:34 PM PDT by Justa (Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people....)
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To: Billthedrill

You watch cat porn???!

Well I hope there are no kittens involved!


17 posted on 07/10/2026 1:50:13 PM PDT by Chickensoup
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To: algore

“they are already dumping tonnes of barium and who knows what else in their chemtrails”

LOL!


18 posted on 07/10/2026 1:54:36 PM PDT by TexasGator (1-In.11-1i11'./1)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Hold on, the Stone Age is an option?


19 posted on 07/10/2026 1:54:38 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (You choose; a world without dogs or a world without muslims.)
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To: Chickensoup
Well I hope there are no kittens involved!


20 posted on 07/10/2026 1:55:16 PM PDT by Sirius Lee ("Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.)
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