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"A CME wouldn't cause a world without power. It would cause parts of the world to lose their power grids and satellites. Generators would almost certainly be ho

by rsync 10y ago

"A CME wouldn't cause a world without power. It would cause parts of the world to lose their power grids and satellites. Generators would almost certainly be hooked up to critical infrastructure and cities in rich countries." This is true, of course, however I am pessimistic about the ability for manufacturers to resist cutesy network/cloud/status/monitoring functions in these devices. I am sure that somewhere, right now, there is a diesel generator acting as backup for something critical that is plugged into ethernet and queries a license server every five minutes.

JumpCrisscross 10y ago
> I am pessimistic about the ability for manufacturers to resist cutesy network/cloud/status/monitoring functions in these devices Small electronics would probably not be affected by a coronal mass ejection [1]. CMEs wreak havoc with the power grid by "inducing a DC-like current" through transformers, thereby melting them [2]. Most diesel generators don't contain large transformers hooked up to miles and miles of conductive cabling. [1] http://www.computerworld.com/article/2643093/strong-solar-storm-set-to-arrive-wont-fry-electronics.html http://www.computerworld.com/article/2643093/strong-solar-st... [2] http://www.thepreparednesspodcast.com/the-difference-between-emp-and-cme/ http://www.thepreparednesspodcast.com/the-difference-between...
Retric 10y ago
There might be massive issues for power distribution but not power generation as generation can be quickly taken off grid. Local power plants could then be brought back very quickly. There could still be issues in specific areas dependent on long distance power. However, nuclear subs and aircraft carriers have been used in the past to provide power for critical infrastructure ~(40+MW a pop) and local power grids would not be impacted long term. Compared to say a war this would be a minor long term impact. PS: The $613 billion estimate over 5 years is 0.15% of the ~390,000 billion world GDP over that same 5 years.

by rsync 10y ago

JumpCrisscross 10y ago

> I am pessimistic about the ability for manufacturers to resist cutesy network/cloud/status/monitoring functions in these devices Small electronics would probably not be affected by a coronal mass ejection [1]. CMEs wreak havoc with the power grid by "inducing a DC-like current" through transformers, thereby melting them [2]. Most diesel generators don't contain large transformers hooked up to miles and miles of conductive cabling. [1] http://www.computerworld.com/article/2643093/strong-solar-storm-set-to-arrive-wont-fry-electronics.html http://www.computerworld.com/article/2643093/strong-solar-st... [2] http://www.thepreparednesspodcast.com/the-difference-between-emp-and-cme/ http://www.thepreparednesspodcast.com/the-difference-between...

Retric 10y ago

There might be massive issues for power distribution but not power generation as generation can be quickly taken off grid. Local power plants could then be brought back very quickly. There could still be issues in specific areas dependent on long distance power. However, nuclear subs and aircraft carriers have been used in the past to provide power for critical infrastructure ~(40+MW a pop) and local power grids would not be impacted long term. Compared to say a war this would be a minor long term impact. PS: The $613 billion estimate over 5 years is 0.15% of the ~390,000 billion world GDP over that same 5 years.