Top Physict “Really Disturbed” By Recent Solar Flares, Lots Of Fukushima-Type Events Possible

Originally posted by Chadwickus
reply to post by syrinx high priest

 

I'd put meteorite impact above a solar flare on a GLOBAL scale, sure it might send half the world Back into the Stone Age, but it won't physically affect us, whereas a big enough meteorite strike could wipe life on the whole planet out.

It's happened before and will happen again for sure.

oh, no doubt an impact would be worse. but the most recent flare was in about 1880 I think, but the most recent impact (not counting tunguska, too small) was a looooong time ago

Originally posted by Chadwickus
reply to post by davcwebb

 

Well he's exaggerating a little bit but essentially he's right...

The whole planet wouldn't fall into chaos but the USA definitely could due to their long span transmission lines which act as conductors during a geomagnetic storm which will overload transformers and generators.

Europe should be fine though, since transmission lines there are short span.

I worked for almost every utility in the US.. You are correct.. the US will have an issue with this..
Our grid is so interconnected, it would be a continuous domino effect....
Although this solar peak is said to be weaker than the forecast,it only takes one direct high X class
shot to shut us down..
I also worked for a Major American Transformer manufacture company,, It takes about 30 to 40 days to make a large MVA transformer.. Ive sat in on some meeting and conferences regarding this issue of solar concern and although there are some spares with major generating stations,, it wouldnt be enough to get the US back on line for a while if they start popping.. therefore the warnings from NASA and a few other science outlets on the potential for the US to be substantially out of power for a week to a year is no joke..

Like I said.. it just takes One big Flare

reply to post by Atlantican


What channel is he on? I've got XM and never ran across his show...I'd like to hear it.

reply to post by BobM88


I don't know where in Indiana you are, I live by Layfayette, and I have to switch from 1200 am to 1210 am. Coast to Coast starts at 1 AM, our time. Depends where you live in the state, Most time zones follow state lines, central time zone follows highways.Never figured that one out.

reply to post by thepolish1


FYI... Every Coast to Coast AM episode can be heard via Youtube. You can listen to them via your smart phone very easily. No graphics so its easy on the bandwidth. Search words: "Coast to Coast November 22"; try it tonight. I listen to the night-before broadcast every night when I hit the bed with the iPhone next to me. I only hear the first 20 minutes or so before falling asleep. This particular episode though, I was glued.

Some residents of the east coast were without electric for over 2 weeks. They were without gas, food and water for the most part.

A coronal mass ejection or solar hit could knock out the power to most/all of the world (side facing when hit). Not only that, but launching a nuclear weapon in space over a country would be the best way to disable that country.

I think there is a real threat here and one that needs to be addressed!

USA Government study on EMP attack

USA Government report detailing what would happen in an EMP attack

Thanks for my new desktop background, OP

reply to post by EthanT

:-DD It sure would,it surely would! Had a goodly giggle there.Seriously though,the appropriate authorities should address this,not much we can do about these+whatever cataclysms,except maybe grow a veggie patch,keep a few chickens+keep your ass clean in case you have to kiss it goodbye:-DD The human race is at the mercy of both planetary and cosmic forces majeure at any and all times,it is what it is.Any technology dependant on an electrical grid,however nifty,is basically a house built on sand,imo.Thats why those who live close to the earth will always make out best.

Originally posted by Chadwickus
reply to post by syrinx high priest

 

I'd put meteorite impact above a solar flare on a GLOBAL scale, sure it might send half the world Back into the Stone Age, but it won't physically affect us, whereas a big enough meteorite strike could wipe life on the whole planet out.

It's happened before and will happen again for sure.

I don't know, having 439 nuclear reactors without power is a little alarming. We're basically playing Russian Roulette with the sun and one of these days a solar flare will hit.

Other than the very short beginning part about the solar flare, I do love how he talks about life out in space, possibly on Europa & black holes and how they could be linked to a white hole that is a big bang.

scientists are so arrogant.
they learn a little and think they know the all there is to know.
for example, light speed. black holes.
they said nothing escapes a black hole. wrong!
They cannot calculate the mass of the universe.
so they tell us its dark matter?? and you all fall for this!

In the cold war. america knew that Russia could drop a EMP bomb.
do you think they did nothing at all about this?
and do you think they would tell ever one? no!
there would be a lot of demerge but power would still be there.

the government has been building electronics for EMP's for 50 years.
by now they have very good electronics to stop EMP's.

Several Youtube posters put Coast to Coast shows up a day or two later, mercifully edited of the long commercial breaks and with a short description of the content or guest. Just do a search. The C2C website has all shows archived for a fee.

A big volcanic eruption could emit an electromagnetic event as can a massive earthquake on dry land. Any huge explosion can cause havoc with things. I remember something hitting our atmosphere from somewhere else that caused it to reverberate, the event came from somewhere other than the sun and was unpredicted. If we lessen our vulnerability to these things that would be wise, we can't stop the events if they are natural.

No use worrying about most of these things, we can't do anything other than to get somewhat prepared. In my pantry I have seeds to start vegetables in case something happens. I buy them when they go on clearance and rotate them every year. The two year old seeds work just as good as the new ones do. I buy mostly heritage seeds though. Last ones cost me ten cents a pack. what a deal. I have food for a month or so but it can be extended to double that if needed. I base my time frame on normal eating habits. not emergency rationing.

reply to post by davcwebb


Regarding the $300M price tag, that's about $0.90 for each person in the US. That obviously includes babies, the homeless, etc., but it really is a drop in the bucket. Whether to do it or not is a matter of playing the odds. Sure, $300M is no big deal, but if its against 50,000:1 odds (of, say, $3T damage), then its a 5:1 cost/risk ratio - not really a wise investment, from a risk/reward perspective.

Do I think we should do it? Sure, if the solution is close to 100%, and if the materials and labor are domestic so that the domino effect of capital can cancel out the expense anyway, but the dolts in DC, and at the helms of the electricity oligarchies would have to believe the investment is worthwile. They're not concerned about the collateral damage that would ensue should the grid go black.

Originally posted by buddha
People are so arrogant.
they learn a little and think they know all there is to know.

fixed. It is not just scientists who are so arrogant.

reply to post by davcwebb


The guy has made a career off of a hypothetical worst case scenario. That's what he gets paid to talk about, because it's what people want to hear. Someone should ask him what is LIKELY to happen rather than what is the WORST thing that can happen.

reply to post by davcwebb

Good subject OP, Michio Kaku is only talking about a global hurricane Sandy situation really, and I in no way mean to diminish what he says. An X flare or bigger hitting earth is inevitable. Just like Sandy we are talking about a natural event. All humanity can do is be ready for it. Unfortunately, events like Sandy show us that governments are not only not ready for it they simply don't place a priority on human need over the greed of the elites controlling government. That is the reality. We have just seen it. Scientists like Kaku know we already have the technology to defend against just such events. We simply do not put money into prevention. Governments might sell us insurance, but not prevention. A sad but true fact as we have seen.

If what happened just over a century ago happened again today then power grids are likely to go down somewhere. If several flares hit over a period of weeks, likely given back drop of a sun in an agitated phase, then it just might be that many of the old nuclear stations will go critical. More than one going critical in the same state or country is likely to be far more than any governing body is willing or able to handle, particularly given there will be a lot of other effects going on, like rioting for example when the food is no longer delivered to supermarket shelves after three or more days.

It isn't even a case of government being to blame. It is the capitalist system itself. The profit system that is to blame. It is the reason we do not have real democracy anywhere in the world. There is a simple answer. Wake up, realize the capitalist system does not serve you at all well, cannot protect you from natural events, or even allow science to reach its full potential, will drive us ultimately to war, and that only when something really massive takes place that is out of our control, such as a series of X flares striking the planet, will that war stop and we all run home and take cover. Too late at that point. We are back in the stone age.

The answer is to work rapidly toward a socialist world system, one in which workers from all countries realize their equality together and allow science and scientists like Kaku to begin to not only protect us from natural disasters but to enable all of us to share a far better world than the one we currently have.

Since this is not likely to happen during my lifetime, I would rather we spend the $300 million on buying the poor a big screen TV and a really nice leather couch.

reply to post by BobM88


Hi there,

He's on Talk 165 on xm some time around the supper hour on Saturdays. If you are in New York he comes on WBAI 99.5 as well.

Here's some particulars.
mkaku.org...

reply to post by davcwebb


He's right and I completely agree. If you look at a map of the U.S. showing the location of all active nuclear reactors; it becomes clear in the event of a major electrical grid catastrophe that we would lose control of all of those reactors and have meltdowns all over the country. So I think it would be wise to prepare for such an event or buy some SPF 1 million sunscreen.