4 ms·
Magnetic field protects from solar wind that strips atmosphere.
by slavboj 3y ago
Magnetic field protects from solar wind that strips atmosphere.
- outofpaper 3y agoIt's often said but with heavy evidence to yhr contrary e.g. Venus. Venue's negligible magnetic field is almost non-existent yet its atmosphere is many many times thicker than ours.
- idiotsecant 3y agoIn fact, earth actively loses material to space because is has a magnetosphere, polar outflow of oxygen for example.
- kijin 3y agoVenus loses a lot of material, too. One of the reasons Venus still has a dense atmosphere is because its atmosphere is mostly composed of a relatively heavy compound, CO2, which is harder to lose than lighter gases like H2, N2, and O2.
- hermitcrab 3y agoIf you turned off the earth's magnetic field today, then presumably the atmosphere would be gradually stripped, away over millions of years. Similar to what happened to Mars. But it would not make any immediate difference to the density.
- AnimalMuppet 3y agoNot immediate, no. But magnetic fields don't usually just switch off. If the planet didn't have one to begin with, then it probably doesn't have much of an atmosphere for long enough for advanced life.