Posted on 07/13/2004 7:25:26 AM PDT by Servant of the 9
The collapse of the Earth's magnetic field, which both guards the planet and guides many of its creatures, appears to have started in earnest about 150 years ago. The field's strength has waned 10 to 15 percent, and the deterioration has accelerated of late, increasing debate over whether it portends a reversal of the lines of magnetic force that normally envelop the Earth.
During a reversal, the main field weakens, almost vanishes, then reappears with opposite polarity. Afterward, compass needles that normally point north would point south, and during the thousands of years of transition, much in the heavens and Earth would go askew.
A reversal could knock out power grids, hurt astronauts and satellites, widen atmospheric ozone holes, send polar auroras flashing to the equator and confuse birds, fish and migratory animals that rely on the steadiness of the magnetic field as a navigation aid. But experts said the repercussions would fall short of catastrophic, despite a few proclamations of doom and sketchy evidence of past links between field reversals and species extinctions.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Diferent story.
It's going to be cool!
A local notice to mariners won't do it this time. The compass roses on chart would have to be redone, right? Maybe not. Maybe there will be a huge correction to apply.
Let's not forget everybody, the central question of the bearing of all things:
Can Dead Men Vote Twice, At Elections?
Magnetic bearing ping.
No; he TYPED with his nose: didn't you read #27's response to #26 correctly???
Why?? When so many play by EAR!
...most people HOLD nose when I play.......
Start at 26 and read them all. I type with my nose to keep my hands free for wringing.
Keep 1t up and the thread will REALLY be buggered!
OOPS!!!
I meant 'BOOGERED!'
My nose is really sore too.
See my notes in Nbr 51.
Uhhh, if the flip is 180 degrees, why would compasses be a problem? I think I could adjust to the pointy end pointing south on my trusty field companion. (Although I'm sure compass manufacturers would make a fortune telling us we all had to buy new ones so the arrow still pointed north.)
See my comments in Nbr 51: The movement of the north magetic pole in the last few years is striking.
I must differ on one point.
Bush told Cheney to take care of this in Feb 2001. Cheney forgot so, "It's Cheney's Fault"
The uncertainty of the pole shift is what impact the loss or "vibrations" of the magnetic field will have on everything from solar wind (that could irradiate crops, animals and people possibly causing famine, cancer, etc.) to UV and X-ray emissions of the sun (also possibly causing all kinds of mayhem), never before seen fluctuations in the propogation or blocking of all kinds of radio traffic, to the possibility of causing massive power surges on power grids.
This has never happened when we had so much land tied up in crops, so many miles of power cabling to receive power, so many devices depending on accurate position readings and communications. The main point is that while we can not truly know how we will be affected, there is a rather distinct possibility that it will be orders of magnitude worse than you imagine.
We have an interresting conflict of philosophies here. Insisting that it will be bad could destroy economies and countries even if nothing actually happens at all. Insisting that it has no possibility could be the difference between stepping back to last decade's economy and stepping back to the 1700's. Or farther. The question is how to logically prepare for the most likely outcomes, and yet have some small backup plan to keep the species alive if it is far worse than anyone fears.
Thanks for the ping. I was going to post this.
Like the Los Angelos "Big One" earthquake, the expected magnetic polar switch is a l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ong time overdue:
It has no been in a "stable" position for longer than it ever has before:
http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/chron/paleomag/TIME.HTML
More general info:
http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/chron/paleomag/TIME.HTML
We're doomed! The magnetic field collapse will kill my pony! And I don't even have it yet!
needle pointing north = bad
needle pointing south = bad.
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