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The universe is the balance between order and chaos. The life that exists there is surrounded by phenomena and events that could greatly disrupt the flow of survival. A solar storm is one of those phenomena that poses a serious threat to people living on earth. The solar storm consists of powerful eruptions of mass and energy from the sun. Eruptions appear from the burning gas ball as flares, sunspots, and coronal mass ejection (CME).
However, the solar storm is a rare event and can be considered a black swan event. One such event occurred in 1859, called the “Carrington Event” which resulted in a major disruption of electrical infrastructure, and then again in 1921 which was a relatively milder solar storm. But researchers believe this black swan event may occur again in a decade. A study by Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi, University of California, Irvine, suggests that a major solar storm may hit Earth within the next decade, and the odds of it occurring vary from 1.6 to 12 percent. This indicates that the chances of a massive solar storm are likely, and it will severely affect the internet infrastructure under the sea, including power grids and gas pipelines, says Wired.
With the ejection of highly magnetized particles from the sun to the earth, magnetic fields on earth can become very erratic and induce strong electric currents. These currents have the capacity to destroy the long distance Internet cables laid under the sea that serve as the backbone of the Internet used around the world.
The storm could also affect the communications satellite, causing a catastrophic turn of events as the whole world now depends on the Internet. According to the study, the least affected continent will be Asia, since it derives its internet from Singapore as a hub. It is estimated that in the event of a solar storm, a day in the United States without the Internet can cost up to $ 7 billion per day.
The world is still grappling with the Black Swan event of 2020, and now this study has left the doors ajar for another Black Swan event. Do you think the world is ready for a huge solar storm?
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