I the LORD have created it. Isaiah 45:8
"Geophysicists are still puzzling over how the earth’s magnetic field and Van Allen radiation belts protect the surface from deadly particles in the solar wind.
The Van Allen belts are lobes of high-energy particles above the atmosphere, formed as a consequence of the geomagnetic field. First discovered in 1958 by Dr. James Van Allen.
As Earth orbits the sun at supersonic speed, it cuts a path through the solar wind. This fast stream of charged particles, or plasma, launched from the sun’s outer layers would bombard Earth’s atmosphere if not for the protection of Earth’s magnetic field.
The paper is published in Physical Review Letters. They found bad news before they understood the good news:
Earth’s Magnetic Field is A Ruthless, Solar-Wind-Shredding Machine (Space.com). Brandon Specktor notes that the breakdown of the electron stream occurs in just 90 milliseconds – nine one-hundredths of a second. If it weren’t for this newly-discovered process, he says, earth would be fried:
We need to keep in mind these physical mechanisms as we “enjoy the gentle winds of summer,” realizing that multiple laws of physics and chemistry appear to have ‘conspired’ to work together for our benefit." CEH
"Geophysicists are still puzzling over how the earth’s magnetic field and Van Allen radiation belts protect the surface from deadly particles in the solar wind.
The Van Allen belts are lobes of high-energy particles above the atmosphere, formed as a consequence of the geomagnetic field. First discovered in 1958 by Dr. James Van Allen.
As Earth orbits the sun at supersonic speed, it cuts a path through the solar wind. This fast stream of charged particles, or plasma, launched from the sun’s outer layers would bombard Earth’s atmosphere if not for the protection of Earth’s magnetic field.
The paper is published in Physical Review Letters. They found bad news before they understood the good news:
The researchers found that when the electrons in the solar wind encounter the bow shock, they momentarily accelerate to such a high speed that the electron stream becomes unstable and breaks down. This breakdown process robs the electrons of their high speed and converts the energy to heat….It’s not friction, therefore, that slows down the killer electrons; it’s breakdown of the electron stream due to instability. This is a new discovery from spacecraft measurements.
“If you were to stand on a mountaintop, you might get knocked over by a fast wind,” explained Li-Jen Chen. “Fortunately, as the solar wind crashes into Earth’s magnetic field, the bow shock protects us by slowing down this wind and changing it to a nice, warm breeze. We now have a better idea how this happens.”
Earth’s Magnetic Field is A Ruthless, Solar-Wind-Shredding Machine (Space.com). Brandon Specktor notes that the breakdown of the electron stream occurs in just 90 milliseconds – nine one-hundredths of a second. If it weren’t for this newly-discovered process, he says, earth would be fried:
Earth is constantly being bombarded by a hot, soupy plasma of protons, electrons and ions loosed by the sun in the form of solar wind. These winds blow all day and in all directions, blasting out of our nearest star at speeds of up to 500 miles per second (800Scientists are still trying to understand these processes, the article ends. “But for now, enjoy the gentle winds of summer — and know, somewhere out there, that Earth’s magnetic field is violently ripping billions of solar electrons to bits on your behalf.”
kilometers per second) and temperatures of up to 2.9 million degrees Fahrenheit (1.6 million degrees Celsius), according to NASA. You’d think that would be more than enough to bake our planet into a giant, orbiting lump of ash, but Earth and its atmosphere remain largely unscathed thanks to the planet’s strong magnetic field.
We need to keep in mind these physical mechanisms as we “enjoy the gentle winds of summer,” realizing that multiple laws of physics and chemistry appear to have ‘conspired’ to work together for our benefit." CEH
