Earth’s Magnetic Poles Could Flip Much Faster Than Previously Thought

nivek

As Above So Below
Earth’s Magnetic Poles Could Flip Much Faster Than Previously Thought

Magnets, how do they work? Modern day philosophers Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse were mercilessly mocked for that line back when their song “Miracles” came out in 2010. Yeah, that song is about as goofy as it gets, but here’s the thing: we don’t actually know how magnetism works.

We know what makes certain elements magnetic, we know how to magnetize objects, we can measure the strength of a magnetic field, and we can accurately predict what magnets will do, but as to why and how the magnetic force attracts and repels objects, the best answer we have so far is “it just does.” Case in point: the famous scientist Richard Feynman was asked why magnets attract and repel each other and responded with a tirade about broken hips, drunk husbands, and why ice is slippery for 8 minutes, in order to explain why the only reasonable answer is “it just does.”

Magnetism is a constant part of our daily lives in more ways than just hanging things on refrigerators. In fact, if it weren’t for magnetism, we wouldn’t even be here. The magnetic field of the earth, likely generated by the spinning molten metal core of the planet, ripples out from the poles and acts as a shield that protects the earth from solar winds and cosmic rays which would otherwise scorch all life on earth. So magnetism keeps us alive and we’re incapable of understanding it.

That’s slightly unsettling, but even more unsettling is that we’re constantly realizing we know even less than we thought, even on a predictive level. We’ve known for some time that it’s possible for the magnetic poles to reverse. This was discovered in 1906 when rocks were discovered that were magnetized in the opposite direction of what was expected. Since then, we’ve assumed that this process occurs rarely and slowly. However, a new study has found that magnetic field reversals can occur much quicker than previously thought.

earths-magnetic-field-diagram-570x665.png

Depiction of the earth’s magnetic field.

Geophysicist Andrew Roberts and a team from the Australian National University studied a 107 thousand-year-old stalagmite found in a cave in China, made up of large quantities of magnetite that provided a detailed look at the magnetic history of earth for the last 107 thousand years. They found that there have been periods of magnetic pole reversal, where north became south and south became north, that lasted for only a few centuries. According to Roberts, this suggests that the process of the reversal was incredibly fast:
The record provides important insights into ancient magnetic field behaviour, which has turned out to vary much more rapidly than previously thought.
Which means that there might not be much warning should the magnetic field decide to flip again, an event which, by the way, we’re overdue for. Should the magnetic field flip, it could cause a catastrophic failure of much of the technology that makes modern society work. It seems that the magnetic field reversals occur when the magnetic field is weakened. Although it is currently still strong, it does seem like the magnetic field is in a period of weakening.

aurora-northern-lights-magnetic-field-570x379.jpg

The northern lights are the result of our magnetic field protecting us from our murderous sun.

It’s good that scientists are discovering more about yet another global threat, but really, even if they could predict it, is a pole reversal happens that fast, what could we really do about it? Would we pull our satellites out of the sky and re-calibrate them? Would we make emergency updates to our infrastructure? The amount of pot holes I hit yesterday suggests we’d probably just shrug and say “well, it is what it is.”

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Wade

Stare..... They are always staring
Thanks for printing that. It was an event that I was interested in keeping up on but forgot about only to be reminded of.

If I remember correctly ( I probably don't)
Herodotus witnessed it or recorded it from somebody that witnessed it.

As for me I've always been skeptical on all the bad mojo that awaits us except it does make sense to me that the pole is going to be wandering quite a bit for some time. It's going to be hell getting a fix on things.... hello sextent... if the magnetic poles set up home in your neck of the woods and the sun let's out a burp at that time you'd want to be living somewhere for awhile.
 

spacecase0

earth human
2 things that most people likely have not spotted

most magnetic data is from volcano lava so think about how local this information really is.
Poles are shifting: Kilauea volcano causes magnetic field distortion and sends compasses in crazy directionsMagnetic reversal: Kilauea, Hawaii's erupting volcano, has a magnetic field which flows in the OPPOSITE direction to the rest of the planet and sends compasses in crazy directions - STRANGE SOUNDS - AMAZING, WEIRD AND ODD PHENOMENA

other thing is that they are likely modeling the magnetic fields of planets incorrectly
here is a very good start as to what is really going on
jetp.ac.ru/cgi-bin/dn/e_057_02_0251.pdf
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Scientists warn Earth's magnetic North Pole has begun moving 'erratically' at speeds so fast they are having to issue an emergency update to maps used by electronic navigation systems

Researchers say the magnetic North Pole is 'skittering' away from Canada, towards Siberia. The problem has got so bad, researchers around the world are scrambling to update a global model of the fields. Called the World Magnetic Model, it underlies all modern navigation, from the systems that steer ships at sea to Google Maps on smartphones.

The most recent version of the model came out in 2015, and it was supposed to last until 2020. However, researchers say the magnetic field is changing so rapidly that they have to fix the model urgently. It was due to be updated on the 15th January, but due to the US Government shutdown, that has already been delayed until the 30th.

8381258-6579515-image-a-49_1547163901058.jpg
 

Castle-Yankee54

Celestial
Scientists warn Earth's magnetic North Pole has begun moving 'erratically' at speeds so fast they are having to issue an emergency update to maps used by electronic navigation systems

Researchers say the magnetic North Pole is 'skittering' away from Canada, towards Siberia. The problem has got so bad, researchers around the world are scrambling to update a global model of the fields. Called the World Magnetic Model, it underlies all modern navigation, from the systems that steer ships at sea to Google Maps on smartphones.

The most recent version of the model came out in 2015, and it was supposed to last until 2020. However, researchers say the magnetic field is changing so rapidly that they have to fix the model urgently. It was due to be updated on the 15th January, but due to the US Government shutdown, that has already been delayed until the 30th.

8381258-6579515-image-a-49_1547163901058.jpg

Yes it does appear to be moving faster......but at least it makes it easier for navigation.
 

spacecase0

earth human
the magnetic field is going to collapse in on itself.
is going to form many poles (8 or 16, can't remember)
it will then reform in the other direction.
entire thing is likely to take 240 years and we are about 50 years in s far.
 

Castle-Yankee54

Celestial
the magnetic field is going to collapse in on itself.
is going to form many poles (8 or 16, can't remember)
it will then reform in the other direction.
entire thing is likely to take 240 years and we are about 50 years in s far.

Its not known how long its going or how its going to happen......but as it stands its far easier navigating now in northern latitudes.
 

Toroid

Founding Member
The magnetic north pole is migrating towards Siberia.
Earth’s magnetic field is moving away from Canada towards Siberia baffling geologists - Strange Sounds
Something strange is going on at the top of the world. Earth’s north magnetic pole has been skittering away from Canada and towards Siberia, driven by liquid iron sloshing within the planet’s core. The magnetic pole is moving so quickly that it has forced the world’s geomagnetism experts into a rare move. Yes now we have a geomagnetic ‘Cold War’.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gWVmyeZLqs
 

Castle-Yankee54

Celestial


It makes it easier to navigate.......but the migration of the magnetic pole towards Siberia isn't new news.

The migration of the magnetic pole doesn't baffle geologists as it is based on magnetic changes in the earths core.

It appears the "strange sounds" scientists are as easily baffled as those on the shows "what on earth" and "mysteries of the abandoned".
 

coubob

Celestial
8e2b63166cc45cf3ea8e185ca6e9e412

This illustration shows time periods when the magnetic poles were the same as today (in black) or the opposite of today (in white). The long view shows us how often the poles have switched, a phenomenon called geomagnetic reversal
 

spacecase0

earth human
If memory serves its been 780,000 years since the last one.
depends on where you get your data from.
some say every 12500 years (matches the procession of the earth)
it is hard to tell because it will change and then change back. so you can really only be sure of the ones that changed and then stayed that way for a very long time.
edit:
also,
it looks like the crust of the earth is attached to the core by magnetic fields
so a magnetic pole flip may end up causing lots of issues for people on earth.
and would explain why the really old maps show antarctica ice free
 

nivek

As Above So Below
it looks like the crust of the earth is attached to the core by magnetic fields
so a magnetic pole flip may end up causing lots of issues for people on earth.
and would explain why the really old maps show antarctica ice free

I've wondered why old maps show Antarctica ice free and green, why would someone draw a map that way if they saw nothing but ice?...

...
 

spacecase0

earth human
Data from ice cores indicate it has been covered in ice for at least 5 million yeaars.
I wonder about that dating
they find objects they date way to old on occasion
why did someone find a hammer encased in stone that was dated to more than 400 million years old ?
or all the things they find in coal deposits that are clearly man made (ornate brass and cast iron) that are dated to 300 million years old ?
either humans are way way older than thought, or more likely, they messed up the really old dating methods.

and if the poles flip and flip back again, it might look like they had always been that way even though they took a 12K year trip somewhere else.
 
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