How A Massive Solar Storm Could Wreck The Global Economy

originally posted by: InTheLight
I think we should be looking at Nikola Tesla's coil that supposedly captures the sun's energy pulses/radiation from the ether. And, if it indeed works, then protect ourselves by building such devices as to capture any spikes.

It really doesn't though. Even Tesla never claimed that.

It's a resonant high frequency step up transformer, typically powered by spark gap discharge in the secondary. Sometimes there's a tertiary tank circuit, depending on what sort you're trying to do, but the Sun doesn't emit any sort of energy a Tesla coil, or any other transformer, would pick up.

There's no ether, either. We got rid of that in the late 1800's. You can prove it, too: the LCD you're looking at works.

a reply to: Bedlam

So, are sitting ducks and there is absolutely no technology able to capture and hold this type of energy?

a reply to: LuXTeN

Thank you, secretly I want it to happen. The World needs a major reboot. That might sound morbid to some but our world has been pillaged and ruined. We need to go back to basics



Count me in, we need to go back to basics but not the very primitive basics of being as we are assisting now.

a reply to: LuXTeN

Something like the Carrington event that happened back in 1859 could wreak havoc on todays world of the information age.

Funny thing through TPTB are well aware this could happen and have the technologies at there disposal regarding the hardening of susceptible devices, electrical grids/transformers.

Yet "They" seem to be doing very little with regards to protection.

originally posted by: InTheLight
a reply to: Bedlam

So, are sitting ducks and there is absolutely no technology able to capture and hold this type of energy?

You get a big CME, and the magnetosphere is going to wave like a flag in the wind. That's the nature of things. The bucking of the magnetosphere is what causes induction of current in long lines.

But, knowing it's coming, and that's one reason why we have solar observation satellites, you just open the long lines and safe the transformers on cross country transmission. Then you're down to the regional grids being crappily managed and poorly regulated, and if you get people using too much power for the regional grid's generation capacity, you'll get rolling brownouts.

The long lines let the various regional grids balance that. But in a CME strike, you have to cut them. It's not the end of the world, and in general it'll be over in a day or two.

If the US power grid was redesigned to be something a bit more modern, this wouldn't be an issue, ever. You'd probably have local grids going up and down as the CME caused false fault sensing. That's also not the end of the world.

The CME will trap fast particles in the inner magnetosphere where they'll whap into the low and mid orbit sats for weeks. We can control that. I don't know if the gubmint would show their hand. But the capacity is there, and the military assets will be damaged as well, so it's likely a "miracle" would occur and the trapped particles will go away in a spectacular light show that "defies nature" or something. Hell, Trump would probably take credit for it.

a reply to: Bedlam

What will happen to solar panels?

originally posted by: InTheLight
a reply to: Bedlam

What will happen to solar panels?

Nothing. Especially if you are off the grid. If it were me, and I could get my expensive inverter/switch disconnected from the mains, I'd do it just to protect it against random spikes coming down the public power line.

Actually, I'd probably also disconnect anything I didn't want popped. Not by Carrington Flaming Death directly, but as the local grids' lines go up and down, you're going to get some really nasty power spikes.

But an off-grid house, no huhu. Just open the breakers to the line power and run off the standby generator for make-up if the solar panels aren't bringing in enough power to run everything. When it all settles down, reconnect to the grid.

Again, the only things that will be affected directly are long lines. Long AC lines, long phone lines, long continuously conductive fencing, long train rails that are welded and don't have the occasional gap, really low frequency antennas and the like. You will get big telluric currents through conductive rock strata, fish will line up in rivers, there will be significant oceanic electric loops. But that shouldn't cause a lot of problems - it's happened more than once.

a reply to: Bedlam

Not that I want to be a trouble maker, but the expense, poor availability and lack of ability to replace long line transformers plus the rather crappy stability of the grid system as a whole would permit a relatively small number of dedicated arseholes with the knowhow and ability to put the lights out in the entire US in such a way that it might be fairly tough to restore for days, and it wouldn't be 'right' for about two years.

Plus you could get all sorts of secondary damage - when the long lines drop you'll get a sort of reflexive shutdown of a biggish number of power plants. If that happens when they're pumping out the power, nuclear reactors will scram - always a possibility of a poor outcome - and the turbines for both nuclear and fossil power plants will do a turbine trip which can involve liquid suddenly going through the blades instead of just steam. Either way, you can get quite a bit of collateral damage.

And all it would take is about 24 guys in teams of 2, each with a 50bmg rifle. That would do it, you might be able to do it with a Lapua.

But it's the same points that would be damaged in a bad CME, if you didn't shut down in time. Only guys with rifles are so much less predictable.

a reply to: Bedlam

? ... nuclear reactors will scram? What does that mean?

a reply to: Edumakated

Thanks I'll do that

a reply to: lordcomac

Yes, but that could be a good thing in many ways. We're so used to speed, that we've forgotten what it's like without it. Society is too easy and too convenient. People are no longer taught how to fend for themselves... Basic 101 stuff. They should be teaching this to students but they're not.

If life as we know it fell apart people would turn into Raving lunatics without a clue as to how to survive. People don't know how to be leaders, only followers. That's a problem.

a reply to: kibric

But why? What would be the point of that?

a reply to: charlyv

No I wouldn't. You know why? I have something called survival skills ... Nice try though

a reply to: Riffrafter

I have no idea why I posted that. Please disregard.

a reply to: InTheLight

Yes you're right. Tesla was brilliant. The coil would have had great potential had they not tossed it aside. He, if given the chance, would have changed the face of humanity overnight.

a reply to: Substracto

Hehe yes, I agree not primitive but back to basic common sense and reasoning. People have lost their basic instincts on how to survive under pressure.

a reply to: andy06shake

Yes be possibility of that is high. And yes they're not doing enough imo to ensure that never happens which brings me to the conclusion that they want it to occur even in low levels.

a reply to: InTheLight

SCRAM is an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor.

It's achieved by inserting large amounts of negative reactivity mass into the fissionable material.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: InTheLight

SCRAM is an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor.

It's achieved by inserting large amounts of negative reactivity mass into fissionable material.

But will there be enough time to shut them down?