I have heard that we are overdue for the magnetic poles to reverse. Is this true, and what are the possible affects?
Magnetic Poles Reversing
Overdue is probably a bad term to use since there is not strict timetable.
We know that the poles have reversed many times in geological history. We can tell by looking at the monopoles formed in rocks (like an inbuilt bar magnet) and looking at the direction of the magnetic polarity. From this data it appears that the earth has reversed poles tens of thousands of times in its history.
The problem is that the interval between reversals is not stable - it can be anywhere from about 50,000 years to several million years.
At the moment the magnetic field strength of Earth is in decline. Some geophysicists think this could be a symptom of 'impending' pole reversal (by 'impending' I mean in a few centuries, or millennia - not 2012 - that story is complete nonsense
)
We know that the poles have reversed many times in geological history. We can tell by looking at the monopoles formed in rocks (like an inbuilt bar magnet) and looking at the direction of the magnetic polarity. From this data it appears that the earth has reversed poles tens of thousands of times in its history.
The problem is that the interval between reversals is not stable - it can be anywhere from about 50,000 years to several million years.
At the moment the magnetic field strength of Earth is in decline. Some geophysicists think this could be a symptom of 'impending' pole reversal (by 'impending' I mean in a few centuries, or millennia - not 2012 - that story is complete nonsense
)Chris, do you know what the consequences could be of lessening of magnetic strength? We won't fall off, would we 
| deanhills wrote: |
| Chris, do you know what the consequences could be of lessening of magnetic strength? We won't fall off, would we |
LOL...No, we are held on by gravity, not magnetism.
There will be some consequences. Obviously compasses will not work properly and any guidance systems that rely on compasses will therefore need to be tweaked. It is speculated that some animals (particularly birds) will have their navigation mucked-up but that is controversial and some say there is no evidence for this in previous reversals.
There is also speculation that as the field strength reduces we will be subjected to more cosmic radiation - but again there is little fossil evidence to show any correlation between extinction events and poll reversals..
You have to remember that it won't suddenly flip - it takes a long time (certainly decades, probably centuries) for the complete poll reversal.
PS - I should be quite clear - the earth will not flip over (as some loony websites say) - simply the magnetic poles will reverse so that a compass would point south instead of north..
Hmm, would the earth itself flipping over (the hypothetical situation) be a big deal anyway?
| Arnie wrote: |
| Hmm, would the earth itself flipping over (the hypothetical situation) be a big deal anyway? |
Any such impact would certainly kill most, if not all life on earth - certainly humans would become extinct. We know that much lesser impacts (particularly the KT impact, but speculatively the impact that might have caused the Permian extinction) were responsible for wiping out between 50% and 90% of life on earth. The impact necessary to flip the earth would be orders of magnitude greater and would, I think, liquefy the entire crust.
| Bikerman wrote: | ||
Any such impact would certainly kill most, if not all life on earth - certainly humans would become extinct. We know that much lesser impacts (particularly the KT impact, but speculatively the impact that might have caused the Permian extinction) were responsible for wiping out between 50% and 90% of life on earth. The impact necessary to flip the earth would be orders of magnitude greater and would, I think, liquefy the entire crust. |
Possibly, a long sequence of precisely aligned small impacts could do it, without being so devastating.
While it was flipping over (ignoring the effects of whatever flipped it) the climate would go haywire, nearly all of the familiar patterns completely changed. If it spent too long flipping over, one hemisphere (either north or south) would get very hot, while the other got very cold. It would change in tune with the seasons though. Spring and fall would be nearly the same as they are now, but winter would make the arctic look balmy, and summer would make an oven look cold. During winter and summer, the equator would be a livable temperature most of the time, but it would constantly be assaulted by intense storms. Once the rotation was complete, everything could return to a state similar to what we are used to, though things would probably fall into unfamiliar patterns after the disruption of the flipping time: deserts might suddenly become swamps, et cetera.
| Bikerman wrote: | ||
LOL...No, we are held on by gravity, not magnetism. There will be some consequences. Obviously compasses will not work properly and any guidance systems that rely on compasses will therefore need to be tweaked. It is speculated that some animals (particularly birds) will have their navigation mucked-up but that is controversial and some say there is no evidence for this in previous reversals. There is also speculation that as the field strength reduces we will be subjected to more cosmic radiation - but again there is little fossil evidence to show any correlation between extinction events and poll reversals.. You have to remember that it won't suddenly flip - it takes a long time (certainly decades, probably centuries) for the complete poll reversal. PS - I should be quite clear - the earth will not flip over (as some loony websites say) - simply the magnetic poles will reverse so that a compass would point south instead of north.. |
Thanks! Wonder how this will affect Fungshui. This North and South thingie features quite prominently in all their books
Well, that's so wacko you never know how it's going to be "affected".
| deanhills wrote: |
| Thanks! Wonder how this will affect Fungshui. This North and South thingie features quite prominently in all their books |
I guess it means that the Dragon of Despair will disappear down the toilet rather than coming up though it....
I had this vision of having to shift some of the furniture by degrees into the opposite direction or to build homes that are completely round. But think yours is much more creative and positive. Fengshui guys do not need to close their toilet tops any longer, they're safe now
What ever happens this was a prime target for a media hype.
The media gets on my nerves sometimes.
The media gets on my nerves sometimes.
| ParsaAkbari wrote: |
| The media gets on my nerves sometimes. |
Agreed.
On the main topic however, birds use a form of internal compass to migrate. If the poles switched it would be hilarious to see a flock of birds flying north for the winter.
| Xanatos wrote: |
| it would be hilarious to see a flock of birds flying north for the winter. |
Yeah... almost as hilarious as watching them freeze to death...
Sometimes I just don't understand humans.
| ocalhoun wrote: | ||
Yeah... almost as hilarious as watching them freeze to death... Sometimes I just don't understand humans. |
Bah the birds would figure it out eventually. Lighten up man.
The last probe to mars brought some interesting information to light. Scientists are extremely interested in finding any remains of anything that might resemble life. What does this have to do with magnetic poles? Getting to that. 
The mountain formations and the soils of mars seem to indicate that at one time there was a sea on mars. Water still exists on mars in the form of ice crystals. An ocean is indicative of an atmosphere. So if there was once an atmosphere on mars, what happened it to it?
Well scientists believe it blew away. That is the constant battering of the suns solar winds removed the atmosphere because mars did not have a protective magnetic shield. This shield is a result of a hot molten core that generates energy and serves a purpose.
All things being what they are it can be deduced that watching cycles and changes in those cycles is an interesting study. How one particle in the universe can affect another part is also interesting.
Have a nice day.
The mountain formations and the soils of mars seem to indicate that at one time there was a sea on mars. Water still exists on mars in the form of ice crystals. An ocean is indicative of an atmosphere. So if there was once an atmosphere on mars, what happened it to it?
Well scientists believe it blew away. That is the constant battering of the suns solar winds removed the atmosphere because mars did not have a protective magnetic shield. This shield is a result of a hot molten core that generates energy and serves a purpose.
All things being what they are it can be deduced that watching cycles and changes in those cycles is an interesting study. How one particle in the universe can affect another part is also interesting.
Have a nice day.
| Bluedoll wrote: |
| So if there was once an atmosphere on mars, what happened it to it?
|
It stayed right where it was...
Mars' atmosphere is smaller because Mars is smaller and doesn't have enough gravity to hold more, and it is far higher in CO2 than the Earth's because there was no early widespread plant life to convert the CO2 to oxygen.
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