video: Nasa Warns Of Super Solar Flares in 2012, Causing Largest EMP in the World!

[-C-]

The threat of such a thing is very real. The sun also has more forces relative to our position in the galaxy, and the bombardment of our solar system with higher densities of cosmic radiation, than usual. Although the threat of what is otherwise a massive EMP, is the fact that it would burn out most of 250-500+ GW transformers we have due to saturating/overheating. The greater threat still, is that we don't have the industrial capability domestically, or abroad, to replace them. They are already on backorder for years to come.

Not to mention lolbama's budget slams NASAs ability to monitor solar/cosmic forms of radiation interacting with earths magnetic field/radioactive belt. So...our ability to see such a thing coming is only going down, not to mention the advancement of earthquake precursor science ever becoming reality.

BUT YAY FOR DEFUNDING NASA WHOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! right? ffs...

 

[KCIndy]

I don't know and neither does anyone else.

Yeah, that pretty well sums it up. I'm afraid it's going to be one of those "don't know until it happens... IF it happens" sort of scenarios.

The Earth might not get hit with another flare as powerful as the 1859 event for another 150 years. Or 500. It will happen eventually, purely out of random chance. But there's absolutely no way of predicting when.

In regard to storing data, I would assume anything stored on hard media such as DVDs would be okay. But it's certainly not an area where I have any specialized knowledge.

I do know that a good EMP shield known as a Faraday Cage can be built or purchased for items needing protection:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farraday_cage

 

[squarepusher]

Solar Flare!

 

[AFPVet]

Maybe I should get a couple of those fancy EMP shielded cases for my computers

 

[-C-]

Yeah, that pretty well sums it up. I'm afraid it's going to be one of those "don't know until it happens... IF it happens" sort of scenarios.

The Earth might not get hit with another flare as powerful as the 1859 event for another 150 years. Or 500. It will happen eventually, purely out of random chance. But there's absolutely no way of predicting when.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farraday_cage

So you think we can't discover how to predict these things? Do you think we can ever forecast, or have forecast earthquakes or volcanic activity? Seriously this "we can never know! only god knows!" shit really needs to end. You're like Prometheus Bound...never capable of harnessing fire. After all, there is no way of understanding fire, much less predicting it.

 

[KCIndy]

So you think we can't discover how to predict these things? Do you think we can ever forecast, or have forecast earthquakes or volcanic activity? Seriously this "we can never know! only god knows!" shit really needs to end. You're like Prometheus Bound...never capable of harnessing fire. After all, there is no way of understanding fire, much less predicting it.

Um... no offense, but I never said "we can never know! only god knows!"

Maybe I wasn't being sufficiently clear: There is no way of knowing, months to years in advance, that a gigantic X-class flare is going to slam directly into the Earth on a particular date. Any credible scientist will tell you this.

That's not to say we don't know anything and don't have the will or technology to learn. Scientists and astronomers know a lot about solar flares. They know that the flares run in an 11 year cycle. They know the basic physics and mechanics of solar flares. Most important (at least to humans!) is the knowledge of what solar flares can do, and ways to prevent the damage from occurring. They can also determine, within rough time frames, of when flares are *likely* to occur.

But if you think anyone can predict with 100% accuracy that, say, an X-class flare of "Carrington Event" proportion is going to hit the earth at 11:52 GMT on April 1, 2034, you're simply wrong. Ask any astronomer - if we ever have that sort of predictive power based on scientific measurements and observations, it will be likely be centuries from now, if at all.

 

[ConvertedRepublican]

The best way to store hard copies of data is a good old fashioned file cabinet.

As to the second question, I assume so.

 

[ConvertedRepublican]

Yeah, that pretty well sums it up. I'm afraid it's going to be one of those "don't know until it happens... IF it happens" sort of scenarios.

The Earth might not get hit with another flare as powerful as the 1859 event for another 150 years. Or 500. It will happen eventually, purely out of random chance. But there's absolutely no way of predicting when.

In regard to storing data, I would assume anything stored on hard media such as DVDs would be okay. But it's certainly not an area where I have any specialized knowledge.

I do know that a good EMP shield known as a Faraday Cage can be built or purchased for items needing protection:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farraday_cage

What does, and should cause concern IMHO, are items not in 'hard media'. Take cell phones, if what is described happens, it would be a useless piece of plastic and steel. I would keep a hard copy of phone numbers as well, and hope those numbers are hard lines.
Keep in mind it would be months, maybe longer for companies to restore where it was previously. Internet, cell phones, satelite feeds.
People do not realize how thin of a wire modern society sits.

 

[knarf]

bump

 

[Aratus]

should we all be into buying faraday boxes?
tis a more logical object than a tin foil hat!

 

[Deborah K]

Well...I heard that the brown dwarf star that is heading our way is what will cause those solar flares and is what is reaking all the havoc on our planet recently through perturbance or some such bull...sh..............wait......my tin.......my TIN!!!!!!!