The sun is the biggest source of Electromagnetic pulses because a star is literally a controlled hydrogen bomb that is going off 24 hours a day as long as that sun lives.
The next source of an electromagnstic pulse is Hydrogen bombs and other atomic bombs.
One of the ways that you could end electricity working in any country (or more specifically permanently damage or destroy all electrical things in that country is to set off a 100 megaton hydrogen bomb 100 miles up in the center of that country and literally everything electrical there will never work again and any people within 12 feet of anything metal would likely die too (except for faraday cages which are all cars and trucks and planes. So, if you were theoretically inside a faraday cage which these things also are you might survive if you could still steer or land your device so it stops and doesn't crash somewhere.
But, the biggest worry on one level is that sometime in the next few hundred years we are going to get a big enough pulse (likely during the 11 year cycle time like now when the sun changes it's poles regularly every 11 years or so. And if this happens like the Carrington event of 1859 then everything electrical above about 10 feet or so underground or 50 feet or so underwater might fry and be unusable ever after that on whichever side of the planet gets hit in direct line with the sun at at exact moment.
The first quote says that a Carrington event would cost between .6 and 2.6 TRILLION dollars worldwide.
begin quote from:
Carrington Event
 Sunspots of 1 September 1859, as sketched by Richard Carrington.
A and B mark the initial positions of an intensely bright event, which
moved over the course of five minutes to C and D before disappearing. | |
| Type | Geomagnetic storm |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1 September 1859 |
| Dissipated | 2 September 1859 |
| Damage | Severe damage to telegraph stations |
| Areas affected | Worldwide |
Part of Solar cycle 10 | |
The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, peaking from 1 to 2 September 1859 during solar cycle 10. It created strong auroral displays that were reported globally[1] and caused sparking and even fires in multiple telegraph stations. The geomagnetic storm was most likely the result of a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun colliding with Earth's magnetosphere.[2]
The geomagnetic storm was associated with a very bright solar flare on 1 September 1859. It was observed and recorded independently by British astronomers Richard Christopher Carrington and Richard Hodgson—the first records of a solar flare.
A geomagnetic storm of this magnitude occurring today would cause widespread electrical disruptions, blackouts, and damage due to extended outages of the electrical power grid.[3][4][5]
History
The Carrington Event took place a few months before the solar maximum, a period of elevated solar activity, of solar cycle 10.[citation needed]
Geomagnetic storm
On 1–2 September 1859, one of the largest geomagnetic storms (as recorded by ground-based magnetometers) occurred.[6] Estimates of the storm strength (Dst) range from −0.80 to −1.75 µT.[7]
The geomagnetic storm is thought to have been initiated by a major CME that traveled directly toward Earth, taking 17.6 hours to make the 150-million-kilometre (93×106 mi) journey. Typical CMEs take several days to arrive at Earth, but it is believed that the relatively high speed of this CME was made possible by a prior CME, perhaps the cause of the large aurora event on 29 August that "cleared the way" of ambient solar wind plasma for the Carrington Event.[8]
Associated solar flare
Just before noon on 1 September, the English amateur astronomers Richard Christopher Carrington and Richard Hodgson independently recorded the earliest observations of a solar flare.[8] Carrington and Hodgson compiled independent reports which were published side by side in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and exhibited their drawings of the event at the November 1859 meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society.[9][10]
Because of a geomagnetic solar flare effect (a "magnetic crochet")[11] observed in the Kew Observatory magnetometer record by Scottish physicist Balfour Stewart, and a geomagnetic storm observed the following day, Carrington suspected a solar-terrestrial connection.[12] Worldwide reports of the effects of the geomagnetic storm of 1859 were compiled and published by American mathematician Elias Loomis, which support the observations of Carrington and Stewart.[13]
Impact
Auroras
Auroras were seen around the world, those in the northern hemisphere as far south as the Caribbean. The aurora over the Rocky Mountains in the United States was so bright that the glow woke gold miners, who began preparing breakfast because they thought it was morning.[8] People in the Northeastern United States could read a newspaper by the aurora's light.[14] The aurora was visible from the poles to low latitude areas such as south-central Mexico,[15][16] Queensland, Cuba, Hawaii,[17] southern Japan and China,[18] and even at lower latitudes very close to the equator, such as in Colombia.[19]
On Saturday 3 September 1859, the Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser reported:
Those who happened to be out late on Thursday night had an opportunity of witnessing another magnificent display of the auroral lights. The phenomenon was very similar to the display on Sunday night, though at times the light was, if possible, more brilliant, and the prismatic hues more varied and gorgeous. The light appeared to cover the whole firmament, apparently like a luminous cloud, through which the stars of the larger magnitude indistinctly shone. The light was greater than that of the moon at its full, but had an indescribable softness and delicacy that seemed to envelop everything upon which it rested. Between 12 and 1 o'clock, when the display was at its full brilliancy, the quiet streets of the city resting under this strange light, presented a beautiful as well as singular appearance.[20]
In 1909, an Australian gold miner named C F Herbert retold his observations in a letter to the Daily News in Perth:
I was gold-digging at Rokewood, about four miles [6.4 km] from Rokewood township (Victoria). Myself and two mates looking out of the tent saw a great reflection in the southern heavens at about 7 o'clock p.m., and in about half an hour, a scene of almost unspeakable beauty presented itself:
Lights of every imaginable color were issuing from the southern heavens, one color fading away only to give place to another if possible more beautiful than the last, the streams mounting to the zenith, but always becoming a rich purple when reaching there, and always curling round, leaving a clear strip of sky, which may be described as four fingers held at arm's length.
The northern side from the zenith was also illuminated with beautiful colors, always curling round at the zenith, but were considered to be merely a reproduction of the southern display, as all colors south and north always corresponded.
It was a sight never to be forgotten, and was considered at the time to be the greatest aurora recorded [...]. The rationalist and pantheist saw nature in her most exquisite robes, recognising, the divine immanence, immutable law, cause, and effect. The superstitious and the fanatical had dire forebodings, and thought it a foreshadowing of Armageddon and final dissolution.[21]
Telegraphs
Because of the geomagnetically induced current from the electromagnetic field, telegraph systems all over Europe and North America failed, in some cases giving their operators electric shocks.[22] Telegraph pylons threw sparks.[23] Some operators were able to continue to send and receive messages despite having disconnected their power supplies.[24][25] The following conversation occurred between two operators of the American telegraph line between Boston, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine, on the night of 2 September 1859 and reported in the Boston Evening Traveler:
Boston operator (to Portland operator): "Please cut off your battery [power source] entirely for fifteen minutes."
Portland operator: "Will do so. It is now disconnected."
Boston: "Mine is disconnected, and we are working with the auroral current. How do you receive my writing?"
Portland: "Better than with our batteries on. – Current comes and goes gradually."
Boston: "My current is very strong at times, and we can work better without the batteries, as the aurora seems to neutralize and augment our batteries alternately, making current too strong at times for our relay magnets. Suppose we work without batteries while we are affected by this trouble."
Portland: "Very well. Shall I go ahead with business?"
Boston: "Yes. Go ahead."
The conversation was carried on for around two hours using no battery power at all and working solely with the current induced by the aurora, the first time on record that more than a word or two was transmitted in such manner.[26]
Similar events
Overall, less severe storms occurred in 1921 (this was comparable by some measures) and 1960, when widespread radio disruption was reported. The March 1989 geomagnetic storm knocked out power across large sections of Quebec. On 23 July 2012, a "Carrington-class" solar superstorm (solar flare, CME, solar electromagnetic pulse) was observed, but its trajectory narrowly missed Earth.[5][27]
In June 2013, a joint venture from researchers at Lloyd's of London and Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) in the US used data from the Carrington Event to estimate the cost of a similar event in the present to the US alone at US$600 billion to $2.6 trillion (equivalent to $698 billion to $3.02 trillion in 2021[28]),[3] which, at the time, equated to roughly 3.6 to 15.5 per cent of annual GDP.
Other research has looked for signatures of large solar flares and CMEs in carbon-14 in tree rings and beryllium-10 (among other isotopes) in ice cores. The signature of a large solar storm has been found for 774–775 CE and for 993–994 CE.[29][30] Carbon-14 levels stored in 775 suggest an event about 20 times the normal variation of the sun's activity, and 10 or more times the size of the Carrington Event.[31] An event in 7176 BCE may have exceeded even the 774–775 CE event based on this proxy data.[32]
Whether the physics of solar flares is similar to that of even larger superflares is still unclear. The sun may differ in important ways such as size and speed of rotation from the types of stars that are known to produce superflares.[30]
Other evidence
Ice cores containing thin nitrate-rich layers have been analysed to reconstruct a history of past solar storms predating reliable observations. This was based on the hypothesis that solar energetic particles would ionize nitrogen, leading to the production of nitric oxide and other oxidised nitrogen compounds, which would not be too diluted in the atmosphere before being deposited along with snow.[33]
Beginning in 1986, some researchers claimed that data from Greenland ice cores showed evidence of individual solar particle events, including the Carrington Event.[34] More recent ice core work, however, casts significant doubt on this interpretation, and shows that nitrate spikes are likely not a result of solar energetic particle events but can be due to terrestrial events such as forest fires, and correlate with other chemical signatures of known forest fire plumes. Nitrate events in cores from Greenland and Antarctica do not align, so the hypothesis that they reflect proton events is now in significant doubt.[33][35][36]
See also
- A-index
- COBRA, 2020 British TV series imagining an equivalent storm affecting modern Britain
- K-index
- Nuclear electromagnetic pulse
- 774–775 carbon-14 spike
References
- Loomis, Elias (November 1859). "The great auroral exhibition of August 28 to September 4, 1859". The American Journal of Science. 2nd series. 28: 385–408.
- Loomis, Elias (January 1860). "The great auroral exhibition of August 28 to September 4, 1859 – 2nd article". The American Journal of Science. 2nd series. 29: 92–97.
- Loomis, Elias (February 1860). "The great auroral exhibition of August 28 to September 4, 1859 – 3rd article". The American Journal of Science. 2nd series. 29: 249–266.
- Loomis, Elias (May 1860). "The great auroral exhibition of August 28 to September 4, 1859 – 4th article". The American Journal of Science. 2nd series. 29: 386–399.
- Loomis, Elias (July 1860). "The great auroral exhibition of August 28 to September 4, 1859, and the geographical distribution of auroras and thunder storms – 5th article". The American Journal of Science. 2nd series. 30: 79–100.
- Loomis, Elias (November 1860). "The great auroral exhibition of August 28 to September 4, 1859 – 6th article". The American Journal of Science. 2nd series. 30: 339–361.
- Loomis, Elias (July 1861). "The great auroral exhibition of August 28 to September 4, 1859 – 7th article". The American Journal of Science. 2nd series. 32: 71–84.
- Loomis, Elias (September 1861). "On the great auroral exhibition of August 28 to September 4, 1859, and auroras generally – 8th article". The American Journal of Science. 2nd series. 32: 318–335.
- Loomis, Elias (July 1862). "On electrical currents circulating near the earth's surface and their connection with the phenomena of the aurora polaris – 9th article". The American Journal of Science. 2nd series. 34: 34–45.
- Mekhaldi, F.; McConnell, J.R.; Adolphi, F.; Arienzo, M.M.; Chellman, N.J.; Maselli, O.J.; et al. (November 2017). "No coincident nitrate enhancement events in polar ice cores following the largest known Solar storms" (PDF). Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 122 (21): 11, 900–911, 913. Bibcode:2017JGRD..12211900M. doi:10.1002/2017JD027325.
Further reading
 | This further reading section may contain inappropriate or excessive suggestions that may not follow Wikipedia's guidelines. Please ensure that only a reasonable number of balanced, topical, reliable, and notable further reading suggestions are given; removing less relevant or redundant publications with the same point of view where appropriate. Consider utilising appropriate texts as inline sources or creating a separate bibliography article. (November 2021) |
- Bell, Trudy E.; Phillips, Tony (6 May 2008). "A Super Solar Flare". Science@NASA (science.nasa.gov). Archived from the original on 9 May 2008.
- Boteler, D. (2006). "The super storms of August/September 1859 and their effects on the telegraph system". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 159–172. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..159B. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2006.01.013.
- Boteler, D. (2006). "Comment on time conventions in the recordings of 1859". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 301–303. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..301B. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2006.07.006.
- "The largest magnetic storm on record ... or is it? The 'Carrington Event' of August 27 to September 7, 1859: Recorded at Greenwich Observatory, London". British Geological Survey. 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
- Brooks, Michael (18 March 2009). "Space storm alert: 90 seconds from catastrophe". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
- Burke, W.; Huang, C.; Rich, F. (2006). "Energetics of the April 2000 magnetic superstorm observed by DMSP". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 239–252. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..239B. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.07.085.
- Calvin, Robert Clauer; Siscoe, George L., eds. (2006). "The great historical geomagnetic storm of 1859: A modern look". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 115–388. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2006.09.002.
- Carrington, R.C. (1859). "Description of a singular appearance seen in the Sun on September 1, 1859". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 20: 13–15. Bibcode:1859MNRAS..20...13C. doi:10.1093/mnras/20.1.13.
- Clark, Stuart (2007). The Sun Kings: The unexpected tragedy of Richard Carrington and the tale of how modern astronomy began. ISBN 978-0-691-12660-9.
- Cliver, E.W.; Svalgaard, L. (2004). "The 1859 Solar–Terrestrial Disturbance and the Current Limits of Extreme Space Weather Activity" (PDF). Solar Physics. 224 (1–2): 407. Bibcode:2004SoPh..224..407C. doi:10.1007/s11207-005-4980-z. S2CID 120093108. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- Cliver, E. (2006). "The 1859 space weather event: Then and now" (PDF). Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 119–129. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..119C. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.07.077. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017.
- Green, J.; Boardsen, S. (2006). "Duration and extent of the great auroral storm of 1859". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 130–135. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..130G. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.08.054. PMC 5215858. PMID 28066122.
- Green, J.; Boardsen, S.; Odenwald, S.; Humble, J.; Pazamickas, K. (2006). "Eyewitness reports of the great auroral storm of 1859". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 145–154. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..145G. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.12.021. hdl:2060/20050210157.
- Hayakawa, H. (2016). "East Asian observations of low-latitude aurora during the Carrington magnetic storm". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 68 (6): 99. arXiv:1608.07702. Bibcode:2016PASJ...68...99H. doi:10.1093/pasj/psw097. S2CID 119268875.
- Humble, J. (2006). "The solar events of August/September 1859 – Surviving Australian observations". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 155–158. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..155H. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.08.053.
- Kappenman, J. (2006). "Great geomagnetic storms and extreme impulsive geomagnetic field disturbance events – An analysis of observational evidence including the great storm of May 1921". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 188–199. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..188K. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.08.055.
- Kemp, Bill (31 July 2016). "PFOP: Solar Superstorm Awed Locals in 1859". A Page from Our Past. The Pantagraph. Bloomington, IL. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
- Li, X.; Temerin, M.; Tsurutani, B.; Alex, S. (2006). "Modeling of 1–2 September 1859 super magnetic storm". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 273–279. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..273L. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.06.070.
- Manchester, W.B., IV; Ridley, A.J.; Gombosi, T.I.; de Zeeuw, D.L. (2006). "Modeling the Sun-to-Earth propagation of a very fast CME". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 253–262. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..253M. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.09.044.
- Nevanlinna, H. (2006). "A study on the great geomagnetic storm of 1859: Comparisons with other storms in the 19th century". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 180–187. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..180N. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.07.076.
- Odenwald, S.; Green, J.; Taylor, W. (2006). "Forecasting the impact of an 1859-calibre superstorm on satellite resources". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 280–297. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..280O. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.10.046. hdl:2060/20050210154.
- Ridley, A.J.; de Zeeuw, D.L.; Manchester, W.B.; Hansen, K.C. (2006). "The magnetospheric and ionospheric response to a very strong interplanetary shock and coronal mass ejection". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 263–272. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..263R. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2006.06.010.
- Robertclauer, C.; Siscoe, G. (2006). "The great historical geomagnetic storm of 1859: A modern look". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 117–118. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..117R. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2006.09.001.
- Shea, M.; Smart, D. (2006). "Geomagnetic cutoff rigidities and geomagnetic coordinates appropriate for the Carrington flare Epoch". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 209–214. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..209S. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.03.156.
- Shea, M.; Smart, D.; McCracken, K.; Dreschhoff, G.; Spence, H. (2006). "Solar proton events for 450 years: The Carrington event in perspective". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 232–238. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..232S. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.02.100.
- Shea, M.; Smart, D. (2006). "Compendium of the eight articles on the "Carrington Event" attributed to or written by Elias Loomis in the American Journal of Science, 1859–1861". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 313–385. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..313S. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2006.07.005.
- Silverman, S. (2006). "Comparison of the aurora of September 1–2, 1859 with other great auroras". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 136–144. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..136S. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.03.157.
- Silverman, S. (2006). "Low latitude auroras prior to 1200 C.E. and Ezekiel's vision". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 200–208. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..200S. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.03.158.
- Siscoe, G.; Crooker, N.; Clauer, C. (2006). "Dst of the Carrington storm of 1859". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 173–179. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..173S. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.02.102.
- Smart, D.; Shea, M.; McCracken, K. (2006). "The Carrington event: Possible solar proton intensity–time profile". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 215–225. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..215S. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.04.116.
- "Solar Storm 1859". Solar Storms. – Excerpts of articles from newspapers concerning the Carrington Event
- Townsend, L.W.; Stephens, D.L.; Hoff, J.L.; Zapp, E.N.; Moussa, H.M.; Miller, T.M.; Campbell, C.E.; Nichols, T.F. (2006). "The Carrington event: Possible doses to crews in space from a comparable event". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 226–231. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..226T. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.01.111.
- Tsurutani, B.T.; Gonzalez, W.D.; Lakhina, G.S.; Alex, S. (2003). "The extreme magnetic storm of 1–2 September 1859". Journal of Geophysical Research. 108 (A7): 1268. Bibcode:2003JGRA..108.1268T. doi:10.1029/2002JA009504.
- Wilson, L. (2006). "Excerpts from and Comments on the Wochenschrift für Astronomie, Meteorologie und Geographie, Neue Folge, zweiter Jahrgang (new series 2)". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 304–312. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..304W. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2006.07.004.
External links
Media related to Carrington Event at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to Carrington Event at Wikiquote
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