swaping earth magnetic poles

Well, I guess all the planes that were in the air at the time would suddenly change course.

Soldiers who are on field training exercises might get lost (assuming they're using compasses and not GPS).

Coming from an electronics background, a magnetic field that suddenly switches polarity usually causes changes in coils and transformers. I don't know if the earth's magnetic field would have enough juice in it during the switch to affect electronics but we might see a few damaged electronics or equipment that would malfunction for a few seconds. This is a highly unqualified assumption though. Someone else may have a better idea of what would happen.

The latest news suggested it could happen in the next hundred years.

my opinion is that contemporary navigation systems use GPS as guidance so its unlikely that they would be affected. in fact, GPS has now become as consumer level technology. the Flux cut theory sounds good , it would probably be a magnetic surge which could affect electronic instruments.

i was more interested in bio-affect of this, as it would affect human and animal species. apparently, we dont use this magnetic field directly so it wont affect us?

If the poles did swap, they would have to swing from end to end, not just magically "pop" from one position to another. There would be no effect on electronics. The poles moving around the device would be no different that the device moving around the poles. Your laptop doesn't explode when you fly really fast because the magnetic field of the Earth is moving rapidly around it.

As far as I'm concerned, the Earth's field has never flipped, and will never flip. There is so much conflicting data out there (all from "experts in the field), it goes to show that no one really has any idea.

Common sense would tell you that the poles are going to drift (if they are caused by a giant swirling mass of molten iron) because the Earth's core and crust are not mechanically fastened to a common point of rotation.

The amount of "science" out there that contradicts itself on this subject alone is absurd. Most of the same guys that say the pole is going to flip believe in evolution. The guidelines in evolution that say our entire migratory animal population based the development of their navigational system on the "unchanging foundation" of the Earth's magnetic field, now say it's going to change?

So which of your own theories are you going to ignore?

Personally, I don't believe in evolution anyway (I think things adapt to a certain extent, but spontaneous life goes against everything the laws of thermodynamics has to offer). So I only use that as an example of the hypocrisy of their logic.

Now that I'm done ranting...it would be pretty sweet to see all of the birds flying backwards!

The poles have flipped in the past, many times. The evidence is there in the alignment of crystals trapped in volcanic rock. This is solid science, there's no debate about it (among real scientists).

It happens every 200,000-300,000 years or so. I guess the wildlife adapt. Possibly because the magnetic field is only one part of the navigation system.

Hi Bhankii,

Granted the poles have flipped numerous times in the past. I don't doubt the scientific evidence for it but I wonder if there would be an instantaneous flip (which I suspect could cause many problems) or would it be more of a gradual flip over some time period?

Seems to me like it would have to be instantaneous though. Never having experienced such a thing we can only speculate. However, any future inhabitants that go through the flip (if there are any) may just have to revise the laws of magnetism.

John

We know that the poles wander around quite a bit - we have evidence of that in modern times, but you'd think there would be two more or less stable orientations and that we'd flip fairly quickly from one to the other. But "fairly quickly" in geological time could be 100's of years.

Well, I have the business plan for developing a company to repaint all the compass needles.

Well first, all the maps would be upside down. Not a good thing. Ocean waves would go out, not in. (or do they do that now?)

Time would stop. If just for the moment of change ...

The earth would start to spin in the other direction, (wow, the sun would rise in the West, so that would mean my house would have to be turned around.)

WOW, so much to do and only 200,000 years to do it in. (running around in small circles with my hands raised above my head screeming)

Why would it make the earth spin reverse? I'm interested because the situation is immanent with in possible life times.

It's called a sense of humor ...

Another N2S (Y2K) operation?

Good post Hendrick!

John

The speed of dark is the reverse inverse proportionate factor of light.

The speed of dark is slightly faster then the speed of light....because dark is always there first!

Gary Glatzmaier and Paul Roberts built a model of the earths geo-dynamo as early as 1995, and have progressed some since. The model even flips polarity. A good way of picturing the process is to think of a lake of boiling mud, convection currants force columns of mud to rise, and adjacent columns to sink. Think of the giants causeway of the coasts of Ireland and Scotland and you will have a good picture. Of course, this is all under tremendous pressure and heat, and I'm not sure about the gravity situation! All the available evidence suggests a flip of polarity is already in progress.

field_flip

Hello Pibmak,

The National Geo article was very interesting. I was impressed that scientists can now pinpoint the core-mantle boundary. As you say, we may very well be in the midst of a flip but I doubt it if the direction of the field lines in the bottom photo are any indication of what goes on during a flip. Our compasses, etc. would probably be going berserk. I mean that's really a scraggly looking field! Since the normal magnetic field redirects charged particles toward the poles and away from us, thus protecting life, I wonder what protection we'll have while we're confined within a field like that (bottom photo in article)? I guess we could be just on the verge of a flip though.

Have a good weekend,

John

I think the biggest problem is the lack of protection now afforded by the field from the effects of energetic particles from the sun.

If someone can flip the poles at 3000 to 3600 times a min. (x2) we can all have free electricity but will all be lost.

Don't think birds naviagte magnetically, but biology isn't my suit.

Airplanes don't, nor are they using GPS exclusive yet; most birds of commercial size still use intertial navigation, frequently backed with a GPS fix. Can't spoof it, swamp the signal, or turn it off (OK, that may have happened once) and except for OFF it is largely pilot proof.

And what happens when you take a magnet in a field and flip it over? It flips back. The solar system is a field. So if the poles swap ends, we just flip over. No problem.