Could a solar flare destroy modern civilization?

[Chris]

Forget about the 2012 Mayan calendar, comet Elenin or the Rapture. The real threat to human civilization is far more mundane, and it's right in front of our noses. If Fukushima has taught us anything, it's that just one runaway meltdown of fissionable nuclear material can have wide-ranging and potentially devastating consequences for life on Earth. To date, Fukushima has already released 168 times the total radiation released from the Hiroshima nuclear bomb detonated in 1945, and the Fukushima catastrophe is now undeniably the worst nuclear disaster in the history of human civilization.

But what if human civilization faced a far greater threat than a single tsunami destroying a nuclear power facility? What if a global tidal wave could destroy the power generating capacities of all the world's power plants, all at once?

Such a scenario is not merely possible, but factually inevitable. And the global tidal wave threatening all the nuclear power plants of the world isn't made of water but solar emissions.

Solar Flare Could Unleash Nuclear Holocaust Across Planet Earth, Forcing Hundreds of Nuclear Power Plants Into Total Meltdowns - International Business Times

 

[The Infidel]

Guess we had better not build any new nukular plants

 

[uscitizen]

Consider if we just had solar flares big enough to wipe out all of our electronics in use. How far would that set us back?
And yep worse than a flare a nearby star going nova could wipe us out and no warning since we would not know it had happened till the radiation and such was here.

 

[The Infidel]

Consider if we just had solar flares big enough to wipe out all of our electronics in use. How far would that set us back?
And yep worse than a flare a nearby star going nova could wipe us out and no warning since we would not know it had happened till the radiation and such was here.

Thats scary, but plausible indeed.

 

[uscitizen]

Consider if we just had solar flares big enough to wipe out all of our electronics in use. How far would that set us back?
And yep worse than a flare a nearby star going nova could wipe us out and no warning since we would not know it had happened till the radiation and such was here.

Thats scary, but plausible indeed.

Yep very plausable the only question is when. Hopefully a few million years.

 

[The Infidel]

Consider if we just had solar flares big enough to wipe out all of our electronics in use. How far would that set us back?
And yep worse than a flare a nearby star going nova could wipe us out and no warning since we would not know it had happened till the radiation and such was here.

Thats scary, but plausible indeed.

Yep very plausable the only question is when. Hopefully a few million years.

 

[SFC Ollie]

Hasn't happened in the past Billion years, I'm an optimist, I'll bet on another billion.........

 

[uscitizen]

Hasn't happened in the past Billion years, I'm an optimist, I'll bet on another billion.........

Umm the earth is only 4,000 years old now.
And something killed the dinosuars a few times.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Chris worried about the sun? I call bullshit. He has insisted the sun played no part in any warming on the Earth, why would he be worried about solar flares?

 

[Old Rocks]

A Carrington Event would set us back at least a decade. Be a real test of how well we could work together to overcome real adversity.

A Super Solar Flare - NASA Science

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Hasn't happened in the past Billion years, I'm an optimist, I'll bet on another billion.........

Umm the earth is only 4,000 years old now.
And something killed the dinosuars a few times.

If you are going to make fun of religious nuts at least get the information right, it is 6000 years.

 

[uscitizen]

Yep no satellites, no cell phones, no gps, etc.
Cars not running because of electronics.
possible detonation of weapons, maybe nuclear?
Planes falling from the sky, etc...
And millions would starve in the usa because of no microwaves working!


NO food distribution millions would starve in the larger cities.

 

[uscitizen]

Hasn't happened in the past Billion years, I'm an optimist, I'll bet on another billion.........

Umm the earth is only 4,000 years old now.
And something killed the dinosuars a few times.

If you are going to make fun of religious nuts at least get the information right, it is 6000 years.

I thought some religious nuts said 4,000?

So they all have their nuttieness standardized to 6,000?

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Umm the earth is only 4,000 years old now.
And something killed the dinosuars a few times.

If you are going to make fun of religious nuts at least get the information right, it is 6000 years.

I thought some religious nuts said 4,000?

So they all have their nuttieness standardized to 6,000?

Ya it is something over 6000 has to do with them claiming they could figure out the date with the Genesis account of the family tree thing.

 

[Old Rocks]

Chris worried about the sun? I call bullshit. He has insisted the sun played no part in any warming on the Earth, why would he be worried about solar flares?

Fellow, the least danger that a solar flare represents is increased heat. Research what happened in the Carrington Event, the 1859 flare. Very much smaller flares have taken out sections of the grid several states wide.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Forget about the 2012 Mayan calendar, comet Elenin or the Rapture. The real threat to human civilization is far more mundane, and it's right in front of our noses. If Fukushima has taught us anything, it's that just one runaway meltdown of fissionable nuclear material can have wide-ranging and potentially devastating consequences for life on Earth. To date, Fukushima has already released 168 times the total radiation released from the Hiroshima nuclear bomb detonated in 1945, and the Fukushima catastrophe is now undeniably the worst nuclear disaster in the history of human civilization.

But what if human civilization faced a far greater threat than a single tsunami destroying a nuclear power facility? What if a global tidal wave could destroy the power generating capacities of all the world's power plants, all at once?

Such a scenario is not merely possible, but factually inevitable. And the global tidal wave threatening all the nuclear power plants of the world isn't made of water but solar emissions.

Solar Flare Could Unleash Nuclear Holocaust Across Planet Earth, Forcing Hundreds of Nuclear Power Plants Into Total Meltdowns - International Business Times

Congratulations, that is the most idiotic article I have ever read.

Can you tell me how a single solar flare could wipe out every power gird on the planet at the same time, including the ones on the half of the planet that is facing away from the flare when it hits.

Then we have the fact that 2nd generation nuclear plants do not need auxiliary power to keep the coolant flowing because they are designed that way. Some of the research plants cannot meltdown no matter what you do to them, even if you drain all the coolant completely.

 

[Old Rocks]

Yep no satellites, no cell phones, no gps, etc.
Cars not running because of electronics.
possible detonation of weapons, maybe nuclear?
Planes falling from the sky, etc...
And millions would starve in the usa because of no microwaves working!


NO food distribution millions would starve in the larger cities.

Everything that depends on electronics, including the cooling systems of something like 700 nuclear plants, shuts down. Very ugly situation.

 

[Immanuel]

If it does, I am sure it will be Bush's fault.

Immie

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Chris worried about the sun? I call bullshit. He has insisted the sun played no part in any warming on the Earth, why would he be worried about solar flares?

Fellow, the least danger that a solar flare represents is increased heat. Research what happened in the Carrington Event, the 1859 flare. Very much smaller flares have taken out sections of the grid several states wide.

According to you loons we have nothing to fear from the sun as it is not over active or a danger at all. I mean if it is not causing heating problems why suddenly worry about super flares?

Ohh wait I know, next you will propose some VERY expensive solution and claim we are all doomed if we do not eviscerate our economy and enact it.

 

[Old Rocks]

Forget about the 2012 Mayan calendar, comet Elenin or the Rapture. The real threat to human civilization is far more mundane, and it's right in front of our noses. If Fukushima has taught us anything, it's that just one runaway meltdown of fissionable nuclear material can have wide-ranging and potentially devastating consequences for life on Earth. To date, Fukushima has already released 168 times the total radiation released from the Hiroshima nuclear bomb detonated in 1945, and the Fukushima catastrophe is now undeniably the worst nuclear disaster in the history of human civilization.

But what if human civilization faced a far greater threat than a single tsunami destroying a nuclear power facility? What if a global tidal wave could destroy the power generating capacities of all the world's power plants, all at once?

Such a scenario is not merely possible, but factually inevitable. And the global tidal wave threatening all the nuclear power plants of the world isn't made of water but solar emissions.

Solar Flare Could Unleash Nuclear Holocaust Across Planet Earth, Forcing Hundreds of Nuclear Power Plants Into Total Meltdowns - International Business Times

Congratulations, that is the most idiotic article I have ever read.

Can you tell me how a single solar flare could wipe out every power gird on the planet at the same time, including the ones on the half of the planet that is facing away from the flare when it hits.

Then we have the fact that 2nd generation nuclear plants do not need auxiliary power to keep the coolant flowing because they are designed that way. Some of the research plants cannot meltdown no matter what you do to them, even if you drain all the coolant completely.

Perhaps you should read an account of what the Carrington Event was. And we were told that none of the nukes could melt down until Fukaisema.