Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: paul.fr on 24/03/2007 17:32:46

Title: north pole, south pole switch!!!
Post by: paul.fr on 24/03/2007 17:32:46
I have heard that sometime in the near future, the poles will switch! i have never quite got my head around this, can someone please explain,in simple terms, why? and what effect it will have to the way we live...if any?

also will this happen before next Wednesday as i am off orienteering, and don't want to get lost with a backwards compass!
Title: north pole, south pole switch!!!
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 24/03/2007 17:41:30
http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/q2763.html (http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/q2763.html)

ta-daa!  [^]
Title: north pole, south pole switch!!!
Post by: neilep on 24/03/2007 18:24:39
It'll have a mega effect and could be responsible for mass extinctions in the past as it really screws up the protection from the suns UV rays.....amongst other more local issues !
Title: north pole, south pole switch!!!
Post by: another_someone on 24/03/2007 21:33:32
It'll have a mega effect and could be responsible for mass extinctions in the past as it really screws up the protection from the suns UV rays.....amongst other more local issues !

The Earth's magnetic field is important for blocking out cosmic radiation (not UV), but this will only be affected if the magnetic field reduces, not if it simply flips.  It is possible that there will be a short period of reduction in magnetic flux before it reverses, but I am not sure if there is any clear indication of exactly what the transition between one polarity and its opposite actually looks like.

One interesting scenario I can think of is that lately there has been much talk about cosmic radiation being responsible for cloud formation, and thus being influential in global temperature control.  If that is the case, it might imply that a reduction in the Earth's magnetic flux would be associated with increased cloud cover, and associate global cooling.
Title: north pole, south pole switch!!!
Post by: science_guy on 28/03/2007 16:31:07
Quote
One interesting scenario I can think of is that lately there has been much talk about cosmic radiation being responsible for cloud formation, and thus being influential in global temperature control.  If that is the case, it might imply that a reduction in the Earth's magnetic flux would be associated with increased cloud cover, and associate global cooling.

hmmm... another ice-age perhaps?

did you know about the "stripes" next to the mid-atlantic ridge? those stripes are used to find the periods of magnetic "switches". The reason we can tell this, is that with the slow spreading of magma from the ridge, it cools, and the rocks keep the magnetic properties of the current pole. so a compass will be lightly attracted to it.
Title: north pole, south pole switch!!!
Post by: wendlo on 09/02/2009 02:48:12
 [???] I had a teacher once that told us of an old theory on climate change and pole reversal. The theory that was brought out was that every so many thousand years the climate would change(global warming) and polar ice caps would melt and the magnetic north and south poles would reverse.With the weight distribution unbalanced it would cause the poles to move erratically and the earth would shift a little bit to. He said that this is according to the theory why on several spots on the earth there are different magnetic north and south poles ( such as the Bermuda triangle and over by japan). It also describes why there are area's that used to have lush green forests that now are barren waste lands.  He also said that theoretically that is why during times of global climate change there are historically more incidences of Volcanic activity and more severe storms. Whether or not any of this is true has to be seen. But according to a show on the discovery channel by the end of the next decade there will be over five thousand animals extinct. They also had a show telling how the governments are setting aside seeds of most of the worlds plants and eggs and DNA samples etc of animals on the earth. To me it sounds a lot like they aren't avoiding the chance that there might be something to all of it.During Nostradamus week on the discovery channel they also said he predicted similar things to come as well. The other thought is population control and how many people the earth can realistically maintain. then again that is a whole new subject.
I personally don't feel the future is as bleak as some of the shows but think that we all should be doing something to gradually clean up our environment. Not so much for us but for the future generations.