I have often commented on how vulnerable we are when we are so dependent on technology.  With everything controlled by computer networks it wouldn't take much to virtually shut a nation down.

It's happening in Canada right now.  https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/rogers-outage-cell-mobile-wifi-1.6514373 

While this is just one service organization what if several were targeted?

Noel

Tech certainly can make us vulnerable. The most worrying is another Carrington Event. A CME Coronal Mass Ejection. If a significant enough chunk of plasma and accompanying magnetic field heads directly at us, we are talking about dead satellites and overloaded power grids. The resulting geomagnetic storm can release power in the terawatt range.

Its estimated to be as high as 1.88% in the next ten years, the chances of being hit with another Carrington-class storm. And an event like that today would cause wide spread electrical disruptions, blackouts, and damage to power grids.

We live in a dangerous universe.  Catastrophic events have changed our planet before and there is no guarantee it won't happen again.  However next time it will be more catastrophic because we have because so dependent on technology we depend on to survive.

I've thought about that ever since I was a teenager and was semi-prepared for it.  When I was an adult I had the equipment and means to live in the wilderness.  I suppose I practiced it on the many backpacking trips we took.  I could hunt and fish for food and knew which plants and berries and mushrooms were edible.

Noel

 

Yep, so many people nowadays are utterly addicted to their cellphones and smartphones.  If that network were to go down for more than a day many younger folks would go mad, I think.

Speaking of coronal mass ejections, there was one back in 1989 that took out the entire electrical grid in Quebec, Canada.  They act like an EMP, in that the sun emits a massive jet of plasma but also electromagnetic radiation which induces large currents in conductors and can overload or damage electrical systems.  It was a major event that we monitored for at one of the places I used to work.

Dave

1 hour ago, dave2013 said:

They act like an EMP, in that the sun emits a massive jet of plasma but also electromagnetic radiation which induces large currents in conductors and can overload or damage electrical systems.

What would happen to the James Webb Space Telescope? Would the heat shield provide any protection at all?

Edited July 9, 20223 yr by dmwalker

On 7/8/2022 at 4:26 PM, birdguy said:

I have often commented on how vulnerable we are when we are so dependent on technology.  With everything controlled by computer networks it wouldn't take much to virtually shut a nation down.

How is this any different from the electricity grid? Losing that for more than 5-7 days would be crippling.

2 hours ago, dmwalker said:

What would happen to the James Webb Space Telescope? Would the heat shield provide any protection at all?

Good question.  In fact, most satellites do have shielding, and if their operators know about a significant solar event, they can position their satellites so that the vulnerable electronics and instruments are protected.

I would hope that the James Webb telescope has something like this.

Dave

Edited July 10, 20223 yr by dave2013

7 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

I would hope that the James Webb telescope has something like this.

I really should take the time to search my questions. Here is a response from NASA:

"Earth’s magnetic field acts like a deflector shield for protons and electrons spewing all the time from the Sun. Protection for satellites within Earth’s magnetic field includes putting some metal—like aluminum panels—between electronics and the space environment, implementing good electrical grounding, and making electronic components resistant to radiation. Because Webb is outside Earth’s magnetic field, it will be bombarded by charged particles streaming from the Sun, and so it needs extra protection. These charged particles are hard on electronics, and they can accumulate on surfaces to build up static charge that can cause damaging discharges. 

Webb will also be vulnerable to the occasional massive “belch” from the Sun that happens with solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which are phenomena in which the Sun releases slugs of maybe a few years’ worth of protons and electrons in just hours. To enable Webb to weather such stormy solar weather as well as ordinary “nice days,” almost all of its electronics are shielded inside metal boxes and behind multiple layers of metal or metal-coated film.

The electronics on the cold side of Webb’s sunshield get some benefit of being behind the shield’s five layers, which are coated in aluminum. The electronics inside the spacecraft bus, which faces the Sun, are hardened, shielded, and grounded. Webb used tried and true design practices and satellite building codes to ensure it will survive and function in the harshness of the L2 environment."

3 hours ago, Luke said:

How is this any different from the electricity grid? Losing that for more than 5-7 days would be crippling.

The electrical grid is part of it since so much of it is computer controlled.  I would assume a full scale assault on the electrical grid would be the first step.  I lump the electrical grid in as part of the breakdown.  The switching and distribution stations.  It would also affect our water supplies unless we had wells on our property.

Rail traffic would probably grind to a stop.  Since gas stations rely on power for pumps we would be left with only the gasoline left in our tanks and the charge left on the batteries of our cars unless we had solar cells in our homes.  

Our satellite systems would become useless to us.

Credit and debit cards would be useless.  How much cash do you have on hand?  

The meat in your freezer would spoil after a few days and the milk in your refrigerator would sour soon.

A lot of things we never think about would be affected.

Back to chopping wood for heating and cooking and horses for transportation.

Noel

Edited July 10, 20223 yr by birdguy

10 hours ago, Luke said:

How is this any different from the electricity grid? Losing that for more than 5-7 days would be crippling.

Already happen in some parts of the world power cuts are becoming the norm, demand is outstripping the infrastructure. 

10 hours ago, birdguy said:

The electrical grid is part of it since so much of it is computer controlled.

You had the same problem before then, with transmission lines from generating stations to high usage areas. Knock out enough of the right ones (the 1998 Quebec ice storm springs to mind, since it came quite close to doing so) and you end up with a partial grid collapse.

This is not a new problem, nor is it related to computers. Ever since the invention of the modern technology known as agriculture, we've been moving towards dependency on technology for our survival since quite honestly, it beats a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Most American "rugged individualists" outside of the Unabomber depend on modern technology for their survival to some extent, even if they are loathe to admit it.

Cheers!

Also from NASA:

Ground currents induced during geomagnetic storms can actually melt the copper windings of transformers at the heart of many power distribution systems. Sprawling power lines act like antennas, picking up the currents and spreading the problem over a wide area.

According to the report, power grids may be more vulnerable than ever. The problem is interconnectedness. In recent years, utilities have joined grids together to allow long-distance transmission of low-cost power to areas of sudden demand. 

On a hot summer day in California, for instance, people in Los Angeles might be running their air conditioners on power routed from Oregon. It makes economic sense—but not necessarily geomagnetic sense. Interconnectedness makes the system susceptible to wide-ranging "cascade failures." 

"A contemporary repetition of the Carrington Event would cause … extensive social and economic disruptions," the report warns. Power outages would be accompanied by radio blackouts and satellite malfunctions; telecommunications, GPS navigation, banking and finance, and transportation would all be affected. 

Some problems would correct themselves with the fading of the storm: radio and GPS transmissions could come back online fairly quickly. Other problems would be lasting: a burnt-out multi-ton transformer, for instance, can take weeks or months to repair. The total economic impact in the first year alone could reach $2 trillion.

11 hours ago, birdguy said:

The electrical grid is part of it since so much of it is computer controlled.  I would assume a full scale assault on the electrical grid would be the first step.

If you're referring to a cyberattack on the electrical grid then you're right.  There have already been many attempts to infiltrate power plant and electrical distribution computer systems.  The solution is easy IMO: completely isolate those systems from the internet.  It is silly for our power grid computer control systems to have access to an external network where some hacker 7,000 miles away can attempt an intrusion.  A local area network is fine as long as it is isolated.  My guess is that this access to the internet is for convenience, which is a poor excuse when everyone's survival is put at risk.  Maybe I'm wrong, but something needs to be done.

Dave

2 hours ago, Luke said:

This is not a new problem, nor is it related to computers.

But it is related to computers.  From ilscience.net

The grid’s vulnerability to nature and physical damage by man, including a sniper attack in a California substation in 2013, has been repeatedly demonstrated. But it’s the threat of cyberattack that keeps many of the most serious people up at night, including the US Department of Defense.

Noel

Edited July 10, 20223 yr by birdguy

14 hours ago, birdguy said:

unless we had solar cells in our homes.

I wouldn't worry about solar saving anyone, Noel.  The free market crowd are rescuing us by using taxation to decrease the threat of solar power.