In March 1989, 6 million people were left without heat, electricity and radio communications in Quebec for almost a day. In the summer of 2000, a Japanese communications satellite unexpectedly went out of order. And in March 2001, the navigation satellite "Ocean" was almost "dropped" from orbit … Terrorists are beyond suspicion. All these, like many other events, are generally not related to human activity. "Sabotage" leading to man-made disasters, accidents, and sometimes to human casualties is the result of a natural phenomenon called a magnetic storm. What it is? What is the danger of a magnetic storm to people? Can you protect yourself from its effects?
GONE BY THE SOLAR WIND
To answer these questions, let us try, at least in general terms, to imagine the mechanism of occurrence of magnetic storms. The processes raging in the depths of the Sun reach the Earth not only by direct streams of light and heat. The temperature of the sun's corona is about a million degrees, which means that some particles of solar matter develop such high speeds that they manage to overcome the sun's gravity and escape into space at a speed of 200-300 km / sec. These streams of particles of solar matter are called the solar wind.
On the surface of the Sun, solar flares of varying intensity occur from time to time. For example, on August 16, 1989 and April 2, 2001, powerful solar flares of 20 points were recorded, and on November 4, 2003, a record flash in the entire history of observational astronomy of 28 points occurred - according to calculations, its energy could be enough to supply Moscow for 200 million years!
During an outbreak, the speed of particles of solar matter increases to 500-1000 km / s, and the solar wind overcomes the distance from the Sun to the Earth in 1-3 days. Having reached the Earth, it causes a strong disturbance in its magnetic field, which is commonly called a magnetic storm.
WHEN THE SPACE ELEMENT RUNS
Promotional video:
It is impossible to determine the presence of a magnetic storm with any of the five human senses. However, we can observe its manifestations. During strong magnetic storms, even in places far from polar latitudes, aurora can occur. Such cases are described in the "Millennial Chronicle of Unusual Natural Phenomena". In 1269, "… a light appeared in the sky, from which there was light throughout the country" - this is how the chronicler described the polar lights over Poland. In 1360, the aurora was recorded over Moscow and Novgorod - "a fiery dawn from the east, rising through the sky to the west." And the last time aurora was observed over Moscow in May 2005.
Magnetic storms cause significant interference in radio and television signals, power surges that disable electrical equipment. Magnetic storms are closely related to the earth's weather. They contribute to the occurrence of cyclones and increased cloud cover. Many man-made disasters are also associated with them, occurring not only due to out-of-service navigation devices, but also due to an increase in the number of errors in the work of people managing transport and operators of dispatch services.
LOOKED BY THE STORM
A. L. Chizhevsky pointed out the connection between solar activity and accidents in transport and production back in 1928. In the 50s of the XX century, this was confirmed by German scientists Reuters and Werner. After analyzing about 100 thousand car accidents, they found that their number increases dramatically on the second day after the solar flare. In the 30s of the twentieth century, in Nice, a connection was accidentally noticed between the malfunctioning of the local telephone exchange and the increase in the number of heart attacks and strokes. Subsequently, it was established that the troubles of the signalmen were directly related to magnetic storms. Then it was concluded that they also have an impact on people's health. Later, he was confirmed by the observations of the Russian forensic physician from Tomsk V. P. Desyatov: he drew attention to the fact that during the period of solar activity the number of suicides increases by 4-5 times.
Doctors note that during magnetic storms, people complain of headaches, joint pains, heart palpitations, drops in blood pressure, insomnia, and decreased tone. The Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation of the Russian Academy of Sciences gives the following figures: during magnetic storms, the number of heart attacks more than doubles, and cerebrovascular accidents - 1.7 times. From 50 to 75 percent of the world's population respond to magnetic storms. Among people under twenty, there are only 10 percent of them, and among the elderly - 60-70 percent.
It was also noticed that the time of reaction of people to a magnetic storm is also different - it can shift relative to its beginning. People also perceive differently magnetic storms following one after the other: 50 percent of meteorological respondents after the first stress reaction are able to adapt to storms that come with an interval of 6-7 days. And in many people, symptoms of the disease appear generally 1-2 days before the invasion of solar matter into the Earth's magnetosphere - that is, simultaneously with a flare on the Sun!..
WHAT IS THE MEDIA FAILED FOR?
There is no doubt that there is a connection between the activity of the Sun and the well-being of people. But what is the very mechanism of its action? There is no definite answer to this question - the opinions of experts differ. Explanations that people are affected by electromagnetic fields created by magnetic storms are unconvincing. First, the effect of plasma matter is incommensurably weaker than direct streams of light and heat of the same Sun. And secondly, it simply cannot be compared with those "magnetic storms" that affect a person in everyday life. In the metro, for example, the electromagnetic fields generated by a sharp increase in speed or deceleration of trains hit us hundreds of times harder than geomagnetic hurricanes. Nevertheless, quite frequent cases of heart attacks in the metro do not turn into "epidemics" generated by magnetic storms!
That is why the overwhelming majority of physicians believe that the deterioration of people's well-being is associated with … suspiciousness. They believe that the media is paying too much attention to this topic, and even reporting the exact dates of the expected storm. Of course, on these days, the population begins to fully manifest all the symptoms described by the press.
WHO SOWED THE PANIC?
There is another opinion: the cause of people's discomfort is indeed panic, but it is not media reports that cause it. In recent years, the amazing unity of man with the world around him has become evident. It turned out that we are not only tuned in to the effect of weak signals of a certain rhythm, but also dependent on them. Back in 1960, scientists drew attention to the proximity of the vibration frequency of the earth's fields and the frequencies at which the human brain operates.
What happens during a magnetic storm? Fluctuations of the Earth's magnetic field take on a chaotic nature, the brain cannot decipher this information and perceives it as interference that threatens human life. The body's protective chemistry is immediately activated, which is expressed in a powerful release of adrenaline (in psychiatry this is called "panic attack"). Heart palpitations, increased sweating, nervousness appear - this leads a person to a state that is described in magnetic storms …
So, the opinions of experts differ. But, it would seem, what do we care about the dispute between scientists? The main thing is that both of them admit: the cause of "magnetic epidemics" is just panic. But to put an end to this is wrong. Choosing between two scientific opinions can solve the question of life and death for many people.
If one approach is to combat panic by depriving the public of information about magnetic storms, then the other is to solve this problem with the help of awareness - then the elderly and unhealthy people will take medications in advance that reduce the level of adrenaline in the blood, and the young and healthy will burn it with vigorous activity. … Forewarned is forearmed.
AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT
How, for example, can one explain the fact that someone has symptoms at the same time as a solar flare, that is, even before a magnetic storm begins on Earth? In this case, panic is excluded both due to media reports and from interference caused by fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field. It seems that there is some kind of signal that notifies people about the activity of the Sun. Maybe this is light, the speed of which (300,000 km / s) allows you to "report" the outbreak in 8 minutes? But after all, people who are on the reverse (dark) side of the Earth also get sick! So not light. What then?
With the same speed, gravitational waves move, which arise in space excited by the solar matter thrown into it. But unlike light, they affect the entire surface of the Earth, and not only the illuminated part of it.
What if gravitational waves are the true harbingers of a magnetic storm? Then the picture of the impact of solar activity on a person will look like this. The ejection of solar matter into space leads to the disturbance of this space. This perturbation in the form of waves at a tremendous speed moves towards the Earth, significantly ahead of the "heavy" stellar matter of the solar wind. Having reached the Earth, gravitational waves interfere with the work of the human brain … And then everything follows the same pattern as with electromagnetic waves.
But this is only an assumption that can be confirmed or refuted. One thing is absolutely clear: there are many myths around magnetic storms, and the reality still requires serious research.
Alexander LELYANOV