3 ms·

> In the United States, sparks burst out of telegraph equipment, sometimes starting fires. > Should such an event happen today—when our lives our so intricatel

by jfim 7y ago

> In the United States, sparks burst out of telegraph equipment, sometimes starting fires. > Should such an event happen today—when our lives our so intricately linked to technology—the results could be catastrophic, causing mass power losses and disruptions to GPS and satellite communications. I wonder what would be affected if this was to happen today. Would it only be power distribution, or telecoms as well?

knowaveragejoe 7y ago
Aren't electronics today more sturdy from am EM perspective than their counterparts in the 60s and 70s? Not that a strong solar flare couldn't cause problems regardless.
- Arubis 7y ago
  If they're specced to be (military, aerospace), sure. But the move from vacuum tubes to transistors, for all its incredible advantages, made everything a lot more EM vulnerable.
- Piskvorrr 7y ago
  Quite the contrary: as silicon processes shrink, electronics become more vulnerable.