Geomagnetic flip may not be random after all

PhysicsWeb ^ | 21 March 2006 | Belle Dumé

[Fatuncle]

One of the most fascinating natural phenomena on Earth is the flipping of its magnetic field, which has occurred hundreds of times in the last 160 million years.

I hate it when that happens.

Tell me about it. Screws up all the VHS tapes, and wipes the 3 1/2" floppies, too.

[USMC79to83]

Are the Carolinas and the Dakotas gonna have to swap first names?

That's a heck of a good question. Do you think we could get our CongressCritters to spend $9.83 Million to study it?

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

Tell me about it. Screws up all the VHS tapes, and wipes the 3 1/2" floppies, too.

Not to mention my 8-tracks.

[MarkL]

GPS should be fine as it doesn't rely on magnetic north like a compass.

I seem to recall that they're postulating that the flip won't occur like a switching a light, but that it will swing wildly back and forth before stabilizing. I've got a feeling that the changing magnetic fields will play hell with most electronics, and all devices that rely on RF, including GPS.

Mark

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

what's that from? I'm drawing a blank.

[manwiththehands]

I thought I heard the "Magnetic Flux Flipperizer" modification to Karl Rove's Weather Machine was a success.

[MarkL]

The Usual Suspects.

[aShepard]

But, but, life on earth is only a couple of thousand years!

????How can this be??? ???And how did they know????

So many questions!

Will the compass in my SUV work??

[Strategerist]

Actually you go through a period with more than two poles...and those poles scattered around..you could have one at the equator, etc.

I don't think it will affect electronics much day-in-and-day-out, but you'll have much worse problems from solar flares.

And I think a net increase of world cancer deaths in the tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, due to increased radiation coming through.

[aculeus]

Will my GPS device still work?

Yes, but all that stuff on your refrigerator door will need to be replaced.

[Wolfstar]

No only is it Bush' fault, but we all have to get rid of our dastardly poluting cars in order to prevent it. ;-)

[MarkL]

And I think a net increase of world cancer deaths in the tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, due to increased radiation coming through.

I was thinking about that too... Aren't the Van Allen Belts magnetic in nature?

Mark

[mad puppy]

No no no.

The poles reversing has nothing to do with gender re-assignment.

[penowa]

I was listening to some fruitloop on Art Bell last week. The magnetic flip is a known fact but this nutjob says the whole planet will flip.

The only thing worse than their grasp of science on that program is their take on politics. They make DU look almost sane.

[RightWhale]

Einstein also thought it possible the earth could physically flip. Nevertheless, many, especially Coast guests, confuse the physical flip with the magnetic flip.

[Heyworth]

I once had someone convinced that if this happened, you'd have to take the batteries out of everything and turn them around the other way.

[cripplecreek]

What cracked me up was his belief that a physical flip of the planet would barely be noticed but a magnetic shift is going to kill us all.

[RightWhale]

Amateur astronomers would notice since their concrete pier in the backyard would have to be ripped out and replaced with a new one of the proper azimuth and declination. That is serious work.

[Vroomfondel]

I once had someone convinced that if this happened, you'd have to take the batteries out of everything and turn them around the other way.

Hmm. Was your friend a guest on Art Bell? Last time I heard someone talking about the pole flip, he claimed that electric appliances would stop working for a startlingly similar reason.

No kidding. Laughed myself silly for a long time.

[cripplecreek]

I suspect that the worldwide massive earthquakes would rip the concrete out for them. Also the basin wide tidal waves might indicate something being amiss.