The Earth might be facing an ‘internet apocalypse’ with the upcoming solar ‘superstorm’ – and experts are saying that it could last for a few months! Uh-oh.
Global ‘Internet Apocalypse’ After Solar ‘Superstorm’
In a presentation at the Association for Computing Machinery annual conference, University of California Irvine Assistant Professor Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi presented research results that showed how a solar ‘superstorm’ could cause a global internet outage that could last for several months.
Sangeetha believes that the entire world should make backup plans for this possible ‘internet apocalypse.’
Danger of a Solar ‘Superstorm’
Solar storms actually happen on a regular basis as the gases in the sun’s core continue to create high-energy nuclear reactions.
But most of these solar storms are at a ‘tolerable’ level and are easily deflected by the Earth’s magnetic poles. That’s the reason why the areas at the poles have beautiful dancing auroras. Also known as the Northern Lights, these beautiful auroras are a sight to behold but are actually a product of these solar winds.
That’s what happens most of the time, but around once every 80 to 100 years, there’s this so-called solar ‘superstorm’ that’s so strong that it actually flips the sun’s magnetic field. And it’s so powerful that it can get through the Earth’s natural barriers and may cause damage to anything that’s electromagnetic.
If that happens, it can be really bad news for today’s ultra-modern world that relies heavily on technology.
The last time a solar ‘superstorm’ happened was in May 15, 1921 – and it caused massive damage to electricity and telegraph control rooms all over the world. It also led to fires.
Considering that so many people today rely on technology, particularly the internet and cellphones. So, an internet apocalypse could greatly affect the entire world.
Can you live without the internet for days? That might be a huge problem, but Dr Mike Hapgood said that it won’t be as catastrophic as some might expect it to be.
He pointed out that a moderate solar storm caused massive disruption in 1989 but this was sorted out in around 9 hours in Quebec, Canada.
What’s a Solar ‘Superstorm’?
A solar storm occurs when the sun emits huge bursts of energy. The most powerful solar storms may be categorized as ‘superstorms’ and have a code of class ‘X’.
