Solar Flare Research Paper

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SOLAR FLARE - Could You Survive? We live in a communication age to where anything is accessible at any time, sometimes that technology is great and sometimes we overindulge. We live our lives not thinking about what could happen tomorrow and we definitely live our lives not worrying about what could happen if a catastrophe would knock out all of this communication that we are so obsessed with. What forms of communication would be gone, what would still continue to work, and would we be cut off all together are my questions? “Geomagnetic storms can interfere directly with GPS and radio communication because of the ionosphere disturbances. The interference can range from induced noise to complete signal loss. Geomagnetic storms can indirectly …show more content…

It is very possible for an unknown amount of time, for us to be solely reliant on ourselves without all that we now know and need. “Dynamic simulations of extreme geomagnetic storms suggest that the total human population at risk of extended outage from a Carrington-level storm ranges between 20- 40 million in the at-risk areas, with durations of 16 days up to 1-2 years.” (Lloyds). The time line for outages could range for years, knowing that how do we fend for ourselves, how do we start over. So, the question is could we survive a solar flare that would wipe out all of beloved technology and communication, would we even want to? The obvious answer is yes, of course we could survive, and past generations lived without any knowledge of the technology today and for the most part did it well. Yet, with the knowledge we have of all things tech inspired I believe it would make it more difficult and knowing that communication isn’t just a thumb scroll away. How would we be able to get in touch with our families and ensure everyone’s safety? Of course new communication would begin, would we return to sending letters? We have to foresee that communication as we know it now would greatly change, persuasion would change as well, bartering would surely make …show more content…

We hope that nothing goes that far but can it, is it closer than we know. We take for granted all that we have and the very ease of all that we literally hold in our hand. I know I for one never go anywhere without some form of communication with my family, the very thought of being cut off from them leaves me scared out of my mind. So if an event happens, like a solar flare, we would lose all that we obsess over, but maybe that’s not all bad. The question is would we, could we survive an event that cuts off all that we hold dear, what would the effects be, and how do we reach our loved ones. The Shield Act says some of us would survive, “Should the electrical power system be lost for any substantial period of time the consequences are likely to be catastrophic to society, including potential casualties in excess of 60% of the population” (Franks). If we are some of the lucky living after the flares, life would change drastically, going from having the world at our hands to being cut off would be very difficult. I for one would have a hard time adapting, but I do believe that for the most part we would continue on with our lives, maybe in just a more sheltered form of it. Many of us do not have the luxury of living near our entire families, so being able to communicate via text, phone or email is vital. I think that

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