"In the beginning," "There was darkness" "And then, bang..." "Giving birth to an endless" "Expanding existence" "Of time, space and matter." "Every day, new discoveries" "Are unlocking the mysterious," "The mind-blowing," "The deadly secrets of a place" "We call the universe." "It bursts from the sun" "With the power" "Of 10,000 nuclear weapons" "Heading straight for earth." "Think of totally destroying" "The power grid" "Of an entire continent." "Television, radio, Internet" "All down." "So is running water," "Fuel deliveries," "Food and groceries" "Across the globe." "These storms" "Have a planetary footprint." "And the potential" "For loss of life is quite large." "Within a year," "Millions of people are dead." "National infrastructures" "Are ruined" "And may never come back." "This isn't a disaster film." "This is a 2009 research report" "From" "The national academy of sciences" "And some say" "The global catastrophe" "It outlines may be coming soon." "We're overdue." "Solar magnetism." "Why is it so deadly" "And so misunderstood?" "And is there anything we can do" "To escape the magnetic storm?" "The Universe - 5x03 August 12, 2010" "Spring, 2013." "The northern lights dazzle" "Millions in the night skies" "Above New York, Chicago," "Washington D.C.," "And across Europe." "These auroras are the result" "Of a coronal mass ejection." "Also known as a CME," "It's a massive magnetic flare" "From the sun." "The extreme magnetic field" "Is like an explosion" "On the surface of the sun," "And it's 10 to the 25 joules" "Worth of energy." "That's a hundred million times" "More energy" "Than the largest nuclear device" "That man has ever made." "Billions of tons" "Of solar material" "Fired off into space..." "Electrically charged," "Magnetically polarized," "Aimed directly at us." "These things are the size of," "Well, they're" "A hundred-thousand miles across." "They're a third the size" "Of the sun." "So it's like accelerating" "The whole Mississippi river" "And making it move" "At a million miles an hour" "Toward the earth." "Scientists" "At NASA's Goddard space center" "Observe the solar flare," "But the CME is moving faster" "Than anticipated." "90 seconds after citizens" "First see the northern lights," "Most of the continent goes dark." "The magnetic storm sends" "Ultra-high voltage" "Through power lines" "Across north America." "It creates" "A really strong magnetic field" "That induces another current" "And so on," "And the current gets so strong" "It melts the wire" "And then you got a lot of energy" "Being released." "It explodes the transformer." "Giant transformers explode" "In city after city." "All electricity disappears." "So do communications" "As satellites are burnt out." "There are no phones," "No television, no radio," "No Internet." "The whole infrastructure" "Would be damaged." "We wouldn't have communications." "We wouldn't have" "So many different things." "And the electricity" "Will not be coming back." "We could damage" "Enough transformers in one storm" "That it would take several years" "Of the entire world's" "Manufacturing capability" "To replace all of those" "Damaged transformers." "Without power," "Infrastructure collapses." "The first thing to go:" "Water." "Without electricity for pumps," "City tap water will go dry" "Within a day." "The same is true for gas pumps" "And gas stations." "Without fuel," "National trucking stops." "So do food deliveries" "To grocery stores." "People can't leave the cities" "Because their gas tanks" "Are empty." "They can't use" "Their credit cards or atms" "Without electrical power" "And phone connections." "No power, no gas, no food," "No water, and no end in sight." "Think of totally destroying" "The power grid" "Of an entire continent." "We would be basically put back" "In the dark ages." "And no help is coming" "Since the magnetic storm" "Has devastated" "The entire northern hemisphere." "These storms have" "A planetary footprint." "They extend not only across" "Entire continents," "But arguably across" "The entire planet." "It's not a magnetic storm." "It's a magnetic apocalypse." "There would be billions" "Or even trillions of dollars" "Of lost economy." "And that's not" "The only thing lost." "The consequences" "And the potential" "For loss of life" "Are quite large," "Perhaps taking out a third" "To a half of the population" "Of the civilized portions" "Of the world." "Sound unlikely?" "But that is exactly" "The conclusion" "Of the national academy" "Of sciences report" "From 2009." "A magnetic storm from the sun" "Could wipe out" "Our technological" "Infrastructure," "Killing millions of people" "And destroying much" "Of what we think of" "As 21st century civilization." "It's not just guesswork." "A solar magnetic storm" "Actually knocked out power" "To Quebec in 1989," "Blacking out" "An entire Canadian province." "But that storm was small." "We're seeing storm events" "Over the last 30 years or so" "That jumped up" "Literally 10 times larger" "Than that 1989 storm." "A new generation" "Of solar satellites" "Has revealed just how big" "These solar flares are" "And how vulnerable" "Our planet is." "As a society," "We are not prepared" "For a long-term blackout" "Of the power grid." "Can this scenario" "Be prevented?" "Possibly." "But only by understanding" "One of the most basic forces" "Of the universe" "And one of the least understood:" "Magnetism." "Magnetism is key" "To understanding" "A lot of physics" "Because it affects" "A lot of things." "It affects how stars condense." "It affects how galaxies form." "It affects" "How black holes collapse." "Magnetism is everywhere" "And in nearly everything." "It is one of the four" "Fundamental forces of physics," "The forces that keep" "The universe itself together." "Physicists have identified" "Four fundamental forces" "At play in nature." "There's a strong nuclear force" "That holds atoms together;" "The weak nuclear force," "That also has to do" "With holding together particles" "And atoms;" "And gravity," "With which we are all familiar," "And then electromagnetism" "Is the fourth." "Electricity and magnetism" "Are really one" "And the same thing." "For something so fundamental," "Magnetism often gets overlooked." "Besides holding notes" "On your refrigerator," "Magnets rarely show up" "In an average person's" "Daily life." "Magnetism is not something" "That we normally deal with." "You can't feel a magnetic field." "You can run a magnet" "Over yourself" "And you don't feel a thing." "So it isn't part" "Of our daily experience." "The key component" "Of magnetism" "Is that it attracts and repels." "I'm holding here two magnets" "To illustrate" "How magnetic Fields work" "And, frankly," "How strong they are." "Right now, they're attracting" "One another" "And I have to really pull" "To pull them apart." "But they also can repel" "Each other," "And I can illustrate it" "By putting it on this post." "If I put first one down" "And drop the second one," "I really can't push it down." "It just bounces." "In fact, the only thing" "That keeps people" "From walking through walls" "Or falling through the floor" "Is magnetism." "Molecules and atoms" "Are extremely small" "And the space between atoms" "Is extremely large." "At an atomic level," "Almost everything is made" "Of empty space." "The distance" "Between the electrons" "That are orbiting" "Around the protons" "In the nucleus" "Is fairly immense." "It's like this fan." "If you let the electrons" "Be the blade" "And the center be the nucleus," "If there's no motion" "Taking place there," "You would pass" "Right through things." "It's not solid." "So why is it solid?" "It's because" "The electromagnetic attraction" "Between" "The negatively charged electron" "And the positively charged" "Proton," "It captures it" "And it spins around." "So if it's spinning really fast" "Like the fan blades of this fan" "Representing the electrons" "Around the atom," "It bounces right off." "That's why you don't fall" "Through the floor" "And why you can't walk" "Through walls." "It's not" "The atoms themselves," "But the magnetic field" "That makes matter solid," "That keeps a person" "From walking through walls." "Magnetic force attracts" "And repels along field lines." "You can take the bar magnet" "And lay a piece of paper over it" "And cover that piece of paper" "With iron filings." "And the iron filings" "Will actually line themselves up" "Along the field lines" "Coming out of the magnet." "And that's a good way to see" "What the magnetic field" "Actually looks like." "One way to think" "Of field lines" "Is like lanes on a freeway." "The south-bound traffic" "Never interacts" "With the north-bound traffic." "Electromagnetic field lines" "Are like lanes on a freeway:" "Cars go down the lanes," "Down the freeway." "And that's why if you look" "On the surface of the sun," "You see these beautiful arcs" "That represent the field lines" "Where the plasma can flow." "But on the surface" "Of the sun," "These field lines" "Are intensely powerful" "And deadly." "In this freeway analogy," "Imagine if a middle lane" "Was opened up on the freeway" "Between the speeding north" "And south traffic." "And there is no instruction" "As to who is supposed to go" "On that lane." "You'll get a big mash up" "Right there where the car is." "Everyone is trying to go" "On that lane" "And chaos ensues" "And there's a big release" "Of energy." "Now imagine if this freeway" "Was on the sun" "And the cars" "Were 20,000 miles long." "The enormous csh" "Fires material off the sun" "And straight toward our planet." "That is a coronal mass ejection." "A CME is gigantic," "Over 10 billion tons" "Of solar plasma." "It's the equivalent" "Of 100,000 aircraft carriers" "Traveling at several" "Million miles per hour" "Toward earth." "This is the threat" "To our planet." "A direct hit from a CME" "Is a rare occurrence," "But it would be catastrophic" "For our civilization." "We're literally" "One big storm away" "From an engineering disaster." "The sheer size" "Of that disaster" "Has only become clear" "With new reports" "From the cutting edge" "Of solar science." "Disturbing new information" "From satellites might help us" "Predict the next deadly blast" "Of a magnetic superstorm." "Magnetic solar storms" "Have only recently been shown" "To be a deadly threat" "To the earth." "The sun is constantly" "Ejecting material," "From radiation to x-rays" "To solar flares" "To coronal mass ejections." "The reason these ejections" "Don't routinely hit us" "Is that earth is protected." "The earth has this huge" "Magnetic field surrounding it." "It's all around the thing." "And what happens is," "If there's a solar flare," "A coronal mass ejection," "Our magnetic field" "Is our savior, it's our armor." "Imagine the earth" "As this globe" "And the sun is a shotgun." "The sun fires off" "Powerful blasts toward the earth" "Every few days." "But the planet" "Has a protective shield," "Like a sheet of Plexiglas" "That protects a globe" "From shotgun blasts." "It's called the magnetosphere," "A gigantic magnetic field" "Generated by the planet's" "Churning core." "It extends out 43,000 miles." "Just as a ring magnet" "Repels another ring," "Earth's magnetosphere repels" "The magnetized plasma" "From the sun." "A billion tons of superheated," "Electrically-charged plasma" "Hits our planet," "And normally just rolls" "Around it." "The electromagnetic shield" "Of the earth is a shield." "Charged particles try to get in," "But they bounce against" "And get redirected" "By the magnetic field." "Only a tiny piece" "Of the magnetic storm" "Gets caught in the small opening" "At the planet's poles," "Where we see it" "As the northern lights." "Earth's magnetic field" "Redirects energetic particles" "To the poles of the earth" "And we see that" "When we see the northern" "And Southern lights." "Those particles interact" "With the earth's atmosphere" "And cause it to glow," "And it's a beautiful" "Light display." "The magnetosphere" "Can redirect" "Electromagnetic material" "Which allows life" "To flourish on earth." "Without it," "Radioactive particles" "Would likely kill off" "All forms of life." "Fortunately, the field" "Directs away some material," "Like solar flares," "And allows other materials" "In to our planet's atmosphere," "Like light and heat." "You might wonder how is it" "That our magnetosphere" "Protects us" "From coronal mass ejections" "But the sunlight still comes" "Right through" "And we have daylight." "Well, that's because" "The coronal mass ejection" "Is mostly charged particles" "And it's the electric charge" "That the magnetic field" "Grabs a hold to and traps." "Light has no electric charge." "And since it's not" "A charged particle," "It passes right on" "Through the magnetic field" "Like it's not even there." "But where does the planet's" "Powerful magnetic force" "Come from?" "That can be answered" "With one of the oldest" "And simplest of magnetometers," "A compass." "I've got a compass here." "It's a pretty simple device" "To tell you which direction" "Is north." "It uses magnetic Fields" "So sometimes it doesn't always" "Point that way." "And I want to show you" "Why it doesn't." "We're here at a junkyard" "And behind me" "Is a huge electromagnet." "And when we turn that thing on," "What's gonna happen?" "Let's take a look." "Wow." "The compass turned" "Tord the magnet." "But when we turn that off," "It's gonna turn back" "And point to the north." "And what that tells us" "Is a compass doesn't point" "To the north." "It points to the nearest" "Largest magnetic field." "In fact," "Compasses don't really point" "To the north pole." "They point to a chunk of rock" "West of Ellesmere island" "Off Canada." "This is the magnetic north pole." "But the north pole" "Is not a magnet itself." "The magnetic field" "Is actually generated by forces" "Deep within the planet." "Magnetic Fields are generated" "By moving currents" "And the earth is one big" "Moving current." "The earth spins" "And the interior of the earth" "Is molten and liquid." "It's kind of like" "This glass of wine," "When I swirl it around," "It has a nice organized motion" "And it hugs the rim" "Of the glass." "That's kind of what happens" "Inside the earth's core." "Molten iron in the core" "Swirls around and generates" "A magnetic field." "Our planet" "Is actually a dynamo," "A device that transfers" "Mechanical energy" "To magnetic energy." "Dynamos." "There's one on the earth," "There's one on the sun" "And there's one on my bike." "As you see as the wheel turns," "It's turning the axle" "In this dynamo." "There are magnets attached" "To the axles." "The magnets are spinning around." "There's a coil of wire" "Wrapped around there," "And that spinning magnet" "Is inducing an electric field" "And current into this wire," "It runs up to this light." "And as I spin the pedals," "You see it converts" "The kinetic energy" "To electrical energy" "To light energy." "The key for a dynamo" "Is motion." "Moving fluid can create" "Electromagnetic energy" "Just as much" "As a moving bike tire." "In fact, fluid creates" "The most powerful magnetic force" "On the planet" "In the fluid dynamo" "Called earth's core." "But there's a problem" "With this ancient dynamo." "It can stop or change direction." "Earth's magnetic field" "Is not a stable, static thing." "It's changed quite a lot" "Over time." "Like the wine in the glass," "Earth's magnetic dynamo" "Can change direction." "The north and south pole" "Can literally flip." "Exactly what causes the poles" "To reverse" "Is not completely understood." "All we know is that it happens." "We know that the orientation" "Of the earth's magnetic poles" "Switches every few" "Hundred thousand years." "Ice cores" "And deep-sea geology" "Reveal evidence" "That 780,000 years ago," "Compasses would have pointed" "South." "50,000 years before that," "A compass would have pointed" "North." "It's a recurring pattern" "On our planet" "And it may happen again." "It's almost certain" "That earth's magnetic field" "Will change direction again," "But we don't know how soon." "In fact," "The last magnetic reversal" "Was 780,000 years ago" "Which is longer than," "On average, the field reverses." "So, in a sense, we're overdue" "For a reversal." "No one is sure" "How a pole reversal" "Will affect human life." "Compasses will point south." "Bird migrations" "Might be disrupted." "GPS navigation will be affected." "But there is a more disturbing" "Consequence." "A pole reversal" "Might mean a period" "Where there is a weakened" "Or no magnetic field" "On the planet." "The problem" "Is that the magnetic field," "When it gets weak," "It's no longer" "An effective shield" "Against particle radiation" "From the sun." "Imagine the earth as a globe" "With a plexiglass shield." "Only now the shield is weakened." "A high-powered blast" "From the sun" "Can do immense damage." "When the overdue pole reversal" "Takes place," "Earth's protective magnetosphere" "May disappear," "Leaving the entire planet" "Vulnerable to deadly" "Magnetic storms from the sun." "solar magnetic storms" "Pose a disturbing threat" "To life on our planet." "On the surface of the sun," "A flare begins to boil, bubble," "Then explode." "It's a horrendous explosion" "On the surface of the sun." "And you have this huge storm," "A coronal mass ejection." "These ionized particles" "Fly away from the sun" "At extreme velocities." "These are" "Unprecedented images" "From NASA's new satellite" "Called SDO," "The solar dynamics observatory." "Never before has humanity" "Had such a close look" "At our home star." "The big difference" "Between this observatory" "And previous observatories" "Is that we're looking at" "All of the sun all of the time." "Previously," "We've looked at small areas," "Not the whole disk." "Launched in February of 2010," "The SDO measures magnetism," "Ultraviolet rays" "And even the interior" "Of the sun." "Already, SDO has returned" "Never-before-seen close-ups" "Of solar flares, magnetic rain," "And tsunamis that ripple" "Across the surface of the sun." "It's like having a DVR." "You can go back," "And you can catch" "The interesting part" "And having an instant replay." "So we're gonna see connections" "That we've never seen before." "One of the most important" "Connections is that" "All solar activity" "Is basically magnetic activity." "The key to understanding" "The variability of the sun" "Is magnetism." "We see sunspots," "We see filaments," "We see explosions," "We see coronal mass ejections," "Big explosions of material" "Into space." "The only way to understand" "How that all ties together" "Is through the magnetic field." "The sun's magnetism" "Is created by the movement" "Of superheated plasma" "As it ripples across the surface" "Of our home star." "One of the ways" "In which magnetism is generated" "Is by a moving current." "So any flowing, moving charges" "Will generate a magnetic field." "The sun is one huge bag" "Of flowing, moving charges." "One of the magnetic phenomena" "That can actually be seen" "From earth is a sunspot." "Now if you look at the sun" "And you see a sunspot," "It looks like a dark spot." "What's really happening" "Is the magnetic field" "Is twisted up on itself" "In a certain way," "It looks kinda like" "When you pull the drain" "Out of a bathtub and it spirals" "Down into the drain," "You create sort of a Tornado," "A vortex," "On the surface of the sun." "And you have extremely strong" "Electromagnetic Fields there." "A sunspot can lead" "To something far more dramatic:" "A solar flare." "There are explosions" "On the sun." "We call them solar flares." "Solar flares" "Can be either fairly small," "By which I mean" "The size of an atomic bomb," "Or they can be as big" "As a billion atomic bombs" "All happening at the same time." "Solar flares arc" "Millions of miles" "Above the surface of the sun." "These magnetic storms" "Are more than simply intriguing" "Astronomical data." "The sun's magnetic field" "Creates a dynamic," "Ever-changing atmosphere" "Throughout the solar system." "It has come to be called" "Space weather." "Space weather is the idea" "That things that change in space" "Can have effects on us" "Here on the earth." "And how do we measure that?" "How do we learn to predict it?" "Space weather" "Can affect satellites" "Surrounding earth." "High-powered x-rays" "From a solar flare" "Can cause millions of dollars" "Of damage in communications" "And navigation satellites." "Astronauts on the shuttle" "And space station have to know" "The space weather forecasts" "To avoid deadly radiation" "During a space walk." "These are the kinds of problems" "The solar dynamics observatory" "Is designed to predict." "Forecasting space weather" "Is one of our big challenges." "We want to learn" "How to do it better." "Now, most of us" "Don't really trust" "Weather reports too much," "A little bit, but not too much." "We're way behind that." "We're not anywhere close" "To being able to do that yet" "With space weather." "Are there regular patterns" "To space weather?" "That's exactly what Benjamin e." "From Cleveland, Ohio" "Wanted to "ask the universe."" "Benjamin emailed us... interesting question," "Benjamin." "We'd love to be able" "To predict exactly when giant" "Coronal mass ejections occur." "It turns out" "That roughly every 11 years," "There's a maximum" "In the number of sunspots," "Coronal mass ejections," "Solar flares" "And associated activity." "We can predict roughly" "When that'll occur." "However, we can't predict when" "Any particular sunspot group" "Or coronal mass ejection" "Will occur." "By far, the most powerful" "Examples of space weather" "Are coronal mass ejections." "They are connected" "To the solar cycle," "Peaking during solar maximum," "With as many as two or three" "Per day." "They begin with" "Beautiful solar storms," "Witnessed by" "The solar dynamics observatory" "In full color." "A hurricane of magnetic Fields" "Will grow and swirl," "Sending arcs and plumes" "Of flaming plasma" "Thousands of miles" "Over the surface of the sun." "Sometimes these structures" "Are stable for days" "Or even weeks at a time," "And then something will happen" "To trigger a release" "Of the coronal mass ejection." "And all of a sudden," "One part will lift off," "And then there'll be" "A huge lift off," "And then it will go off" "Into space." "The gigantic burst" "Of charged plasma" "Heads toward our planet" "Where it usually flows" "Harmlessly around" "Our magnetosphere." "But there's a problem" "With earth's magnetic field." "It's beginning to change." "And the worst-case scenario" "For earth's magnetic future" "Is the cold, dead surface" "Of mars." "Magnetic storms" "May well be able" "To bring civilization" "To a standstill," "If it weren't" "For the protective power" "Of our planet's magnetosphere." "If earth has a magnetic field," "Do other planets?" "It's a vital question," "According to NASA," "Because other planets'" "Magnetic properties" "May reveal the future of earth." "1, 0, lift off." "We have a lift off." "Only with the beginning" "Of the space programs" "In the 1960s have we been able" "To detect the magnetic Fields" "Of other planets." "And the discoveries" "Are surprising." "All four" "Of the giant planets:" "Jupiter," "Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune," "All have actively generated" "Magnetic Fields today." "Jupiter's magnetic field" "Is the strongest" "In the solar system." "Its surface field" "Is about 10 times the strength" "Of the earth's." "Jupiter's magnetic field" "Stretches over" "Four-million miles" "From its surface," "And it performs" "The same function" "As earth's field." "We see northern lights" "On Jupiter and Saturn," "Which is exactly" "The same interaction" "That we have northern lights" "On earth." "It's particles from the sun" "Being focused" "To the poles of those planets" "By those planets' magnetospheres" "And they light up the atmosphere" "Just like they do on earth." "But closer to the sun," "Planetary Fields" "Are mysteriously less common." "Mercury has a very weak" "Magnetosphere," "About 1% of earth's." "Venus has virtually none." "And the most mysterious of all" "Is the red planet, mars." "In the late nineties," "The mars global" "Surveyor spacecraft," "Which was in orbit around mars," "Had a magnetometer aboard." "That magnetometer found" "That mars does not have" "A global magnetic field." "But the mars surveyor" "Found evidence of small" "Magnetic Fields scattered" "On the face of the planet." "NASA believed" "It was paleomagnetism," "An ancient remnant from a period" "Billions of years ago." "Did mars once have" "A magnetic field" "Rivaling earth's?" "And if so, what happened to it?" "Fortunately, we don't have to go" "To the red planet" "To investigate," "Because pieces of the red planet" "Are already here." "We actually have samples," "Rocks from mars." "They're meteorites." "They were blasted off of mars" "By an asteroid or comet impact" "Millions of years ago." "These rocks wandered around" "In space," "And then some of them" "Landed on the earth randomly." "One of these" "Martian meteorites" "Is actually famous:" "ALH 84-001." "Some scientists have suggested" "It contains the remains" "Of ancient Martian life-forms." "Whether or not this proves true," "This piece of rock" "May answer the question" "Of Martian magnetism." "ALH 84-001" "Is the oldest known rock" "From any planet" "And it is a unique sample" "From mars." "It lived through the earliest" "Epoch of Martian history." "So this sample has all kinds" "Of fascinating records in it." "MIT's superconducting" "Quantum microscope, or "squid,"" "Is one of the most sensitive" "Magnetic detection devices" "On earth." "A sample" "From the Martian meteorite" "Gives up startling results" "Under the squid lens." "We showed that this rock" "Is magnetized and the magnetism," "The paleomagnetism" "Has been very precisely dated" "To be about" "Four billion years old." "Beneath the surface" "Of the meteorite" "Is the ancient record" "Of mars' magnetosphere." "Four billion years ago," "A strong magnetic field" "Was generated by churning magma" "In the planet's core." "Early magnetic mars was" "A fundamentally different place" "Than the one we see today." "The atmosphere we think" "At that time was much thicker" "Than it is today." "There was probably water" "Flowing on the surface," "Temperatures were warmer." "So it was much more earth-like." "Then, mysteriously," "Mars died." "Temperatures dropped." "Water vanished." "The atmosphere disappeared." "What happened?" "Mars' magnetic field" "Died sometime around 4.1 billion years ago." "What's really fascinating" "About that is it seems to be" "Roughly coincident with the time" "When mars began to change" "From an early warm, wet state" "To its current cold" "And dry conditions." "One hypothesis for why" "Mars' atmosphere disappeared" "Is because it didn't have" "A magnetosphere" "To help protect it." "So the solar wind" "Was constantly stripping away" "Parts of the mars atmosphere." "Without magnetic armor," "A coronal mass ejection" "Would bombard mars' surface," "A magnetic hurricane" "That would tear away" "The planet's atmosphere." "Suddenly, the atmosphere" "Was losing" "Large quantities of gases" "Like oxygen, argon, nitrogen." "The atmosphere got thinner" "Over time." "Liquid water stopped" "Being stable on the surface." "And mars kinda went" "Into a stasis," "A cold, dry stasis." "But could it happen on earth?" "Certainly, at some point," "The earth's magnetic field" "Will shut down." "But that's a long way off." "A more immediate issue" "Is when will the earth's" "Magnetic field reverse." "As we saw earlier," "Our planet reverses its field" "Every few hundred" "Thousand years," "And we're overdue." "When the earth's" "Magnetic field reverses," "The process may leave earth" "Without a protective" "Magnetosphere for a period" "Of days or even longer." "This could lead" "To the very real possibility" "Of the mars scenario." "We're gonna see" "Magnetic storms like" "We've never really experienced" "Since modern civilization." "But we don't need" "A planetary reversal" "To wreak havoc." "Experts say our entire society" "Could be destroyed" "By a magnetic storm." "Planetary disaster" "Might be avoided," "But steps must be taken soon," "And the clock is ticking" "Toward magnetic apocalypse." "Magnetic storms" "Are some of the most powerful" "Forces in our solar system," "And they've been nearly" "Completely overlooked" "By science." "These storms have damaged" "Our planet before." "In 1989, a solar flare" "Hit north America," "Wiping out power" "To Quebec" "And the surrounding area." "Six million people" "Were without power in the middle" "Of a cold Canadian winter." "Electricity was restored" "Within a day, preventing" "A greater catastrophe." "But the Quebec storm" "Was a small one." "A far greater storm" "Was actually recorded in 1859." "Northern lights were seen" "As far south as Cuba." "Telegraph lines" "Stretching across America" "Hummed and sparked" "As a massive power surge" "Shorted them out." "This may have been" "One of the largest" "Geomagnetic storms" "That has ever occurred." "Literally 10 times larger" "Than what caused the problems" "In the north American grid" "In 1989." "New data from SDO" "And other observatories show" "That these massive solar storms" "Are far more common" "Than we once thought." "What would happen" "If the same giant storm" "From 1859 hit our planet today?" "The disaster would begin" "With a sunspot erupting" "On the solar surface," "Firing billions of tons" "Of material directly at earth." "In eight minutes," "Gamma rays and x-rays" "Wipe out most satellites." "Our wired society" "Is now blinded." "No GPS." "No plane navigation." "No satellite" "Or cable television." "We have hundreds and hundreds" "Of hundreds of satellites" "In orbit." "And on average," "Each of those satellites" "Cost a half a billion dollars." "Well, there's hundreds" "Of billions of dollars" "Right there that's gone." "Within 8 to 16 hours," "The great mass" "Of ejected solar material" "Hits earth's magnetosphere," "Overwhelms it and blasts" "Across the face of the planet." "Infrastructure will start" "Seeing large induced currents" "Starting to flow" "Through large power lines." "It's gonna make" "Power transformers explode" "All across the country." "When the transformers go," "Every piece" "Of electrical equipment" "In America goes with it." "It's a critical" "Infrastructure, probably" "The keystone infrastructure." "If you take" "Electric supply away," "Virtually" "All other infrastructures" "Will fail either immediately" "Or within just a few days." "Where does" "Your drinking water come from?" "It needs electricity" "In a lot of cases" "To pump the water up." "So you're not gonna have" "Drinking water." "You're not gonna have lights" "Unless you have" "Your own generator." "And then when the generator" "Runs out of fuel," "Well, if you run down" "To the gas station" "To get some more fuel" "For the generator," "There's no electricity" "To run the pumps." "The electricity" "Will not come back on," "Because the transformers" "Will be too damaged to repair." "They will have to be" "Completely replayed," "And that is not" "A simple proposition." "It takes at least six months" "To build a single transformer" "From scratch." "That means no electricity," "No water, no fuel, no banking" "For six months for major cities." "Smaller cities will take longer." "To rebuild the entire grid" "Might take over a decade." "The cost of repair" "Is staggering." "The cost in human lives..." "Disturbing." "There is no way" "That we could sustain" "A 300 million population" "In this country" "With large disruption" "Of that scale." "Some estimates suggest" "That a large magnetic storm" "Could lead to the death" "Of 1/3 to 1/2 of the population" "Of the developed world." "That's 100 million deaths" "In the U.S., 250 million in Europe," "A billion in Asia," "Lives lost to the power" "Of a magnetic storm." "Up until this time," "This sort of disaster" "Has truly been incomprehensible." "Can anything be done" "To prevent this type" "Of destruction?" "Experts are trying" "To plan for that now," "With better observation" "Of the sun's explosive" "Magnetic surface," "As well as" "Designing shields for cables" "And creating surge preventers" "For transformers." "We now have to think in ways" "Of retrofitting design changes" "Into those grids." "We're still at early days" "Of trying to figure out" "How to harden" "The infrastructures" "Against these." "The apocalyptic powerow" "Of a magnetic storm reveals" "Just how essential magnetism is" "In our lives," "And in the very universe itself." "Electromagnetism" "Is the most important thing" "That you can see" "That's driving our daily lives." "I think people" "Don't think about magnetism" "Because it's kinda like" "A fish in water" "Doesn't think about the water." "It's everywhere." "It holds everything together." "It holds the atmosphere," "The action of breathing," "The action of seeing is" "An electromagnetic interaction." "Magnetism is a simple force," "One of four most basic forces" "In the universe." "It can become a child's toy," "It holds our molecules together," "And if we're lucky," "It protects our planet" "From the vast powers of the sun." "To the inhabitants of earth," "It is one of the most overlooked" "Forces in our universe." "Yet magnetism gives and can take everything."