Remember 2006?
Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR): "The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one," she says. If correct, the years ahead could produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958.
Dikpati's prediction is unprecedented. In nearly-two centuries since the 11-year sunspot cycle was discovered, scientists have struggled to predict the size of future maxima—and failed. Solar maxima can be intense, as in 1958, or barely detectable, as in 1805, obeying no obvious pattern.
Embarrassing rubbish. And appalling assumptions.
Nature's light shows. Nowadays we can handle such bursts. Perhaps - perhaps - you might find your cell phone mildly under-performing for a few hours. But a blackout like in 1989 Quebec... unlikely today.
And with that - off to bed.
6 comments:
The last Stephen King book I read was about cell phones sending out a signal which made people go crazy. A very interesting take on today's society. Some people are so dependent on our luxuries and technology, a cell phone malfunction can seem like the end of the world to them. Yes, people tend to exaggerate. And exaggeration is exactly what a lot of news reports are about. War, disaster, diseases ... if it doesn't shock, they don't show it. Naturally they'll hop onto any bandwagon that can cause mass hysteria. A few years ago it was asteroids hitting earth. They even made several movies about it! So this time, it's solar flares. I never did go see "Sunshine" in theaters ...
I'm not a Stephen King fan. Seems a waste of time to immerse one's self in fiction. I'd rather read a textbook.
What is "Sunshine?"
Does it look like this?
This is really a beautiful image, Dr. Hendler. I've been enjoying looking at these things since I discovered your blog. Not sure whether I agree with your stance on the environmental implications, but, of course, you are the expert -- not I! :) Thanks for sharing. I look forward to reading more and learning from you.
"Sunshine" is a science fiction movie about a space mission to the sun. I don't think you'd like it, because it's probably not all that scientifically accurate.
Fiction is my life, though I do enjoy the occassional textbook about quantum physics. There are often many truths to be found in fiction.
Ha! I am an intelligent man, but quantum physics are beyond me.
I'll see about digging up some more nifty images. I've had "one of those" weekends. I hope to get back on track in the next day or so.
im not a rocket surgeon but it seems to me they cant be all that bad with all the corner store tech we got but i did find some light reading you might like or not i think it s kinda funny....
http://www.synchronizm.com/blog/index.php/2007/03/29/the-bees-who-flew-too-high/
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