Haskins 1

Max Haskins

April 29th, 2018

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

Lets’ Flip the Switch and Talk about Polarity

Who even knew that the Earth’s magnetic field flips in the first place, and when will it

flip again? That has been the underlying question that has driven my research, to discover why

the magnetic field of the Earth flips and what happens during these flips. My curiosity all started

when I walked into class one day reading a news article about the Earth’s magnetic field and how

it was speculated to flip within my life time. The article talked about how the Earth’s magnetic

field strength dropped a total of 10 percent since humans have recorded; because the magnetic

field is not as strong as it was in the past the article assumed that it is bound to flip. From this,

my mind started questioning, and coming up with its own ideas as to when the field would flip

and what effects it would have on society. Through my thought process, I will explore what the

magnetic field is, how it is formed, why it flips, and what dangers it could pose to society.

What is the Magnetic Field?

To understand how the magnetic field works we need to figure out how it is generated,

and to figure out how it is generated we first need to learn how the planet Earth was formed. A

long time ago, when our solar system was just a beginning to form around our sun, a massive

disc of dust and rocks circled our star. “The solar wind swept away lighter elements, such as

hydrogen and helium, from the closer regions, leaving only heavy, rocky materials to create
 Haskins 2

smaller terrestrial worlds” (Redd, Nola Taylor). These heavier rocks would collide to form the

core of our planet, as this core becomes planet sized, the rocks inside the core started to face

extremes pressures. This pressure raised the temperature of the core to the point at which these

heavy elements, such as iron, would melt down to a liquid state of matter. The Earth’s core is

divided into a solid inner center roughly 1,500 miles wide covered by a liquid outer layer about

1,400 miles thick. (Choi, Charles Q.) These two regions, the outer and inner cores, vary in

temperature. This causes an imbalance which forces the denser liquid that has cooled off from

being further away from the hot core, to sink closer to the inner core. Then the less dense liquid

rises, like a giant lava lamp. This constant motion of the liquid up and down, in addition to the

rotation of the Earth, it causes the iron to rub against each other. “This flow of liquid iron

generates electric currents, which in turn produce magnetic fields.” (What Causes the Earth's

Magnetic Field?) Just like a regular magnet, our field has poles of their own they are located

roughly in the same spots as the North and South pole, but they tend to move since the core is

always moving. Because the Earth produces a magnetic field, the Earth is protected from the

chaos that is called our universe, based off NASA’s website, the magnetic field can protect Earth

from solar and cosmic particle radiation, and the erosion of our atmosphere. Sadly, because the

poles of our magnetic field move, that means that occasionally it does tend to wander too far

from the poles and flip to the other side of the globe. This flip changes North and South to be

South and North and could pose a problem to modern day technology and other facets of life.

The magnetic field that Earth has is a rare one. Not many planets in the inner solar system

possess the power to generate such a field to protect itself from the solar winds of our star. The

inner planets of our solar system consist of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. These planets are

all located at different distances from our star and all have different magnetic fields. Mercury, the
 Haskins 3

closest to the star, has a “field strength only about 1% that of Earth’s” which is understandable

since the solar winds are ripping away the magnetic field of the planet (Naeye, Robert). Next

Venus has a field strength that is not even detectable Which is odd since It is further away from

our star compared to Mercury, so the solar wind has less effect on it. Following Venus, we have

Earth, which we all know about. Then finally Mars, it has no global field like Venus, but oddly

enough Mars did have a magnetic field once in its history. From this, some rocks have held on to

that magnetism and produce magnetic fields in “a series of magnetic stripes of alternating

polarity in the southern hemisphere. (Naeye, Robert)” Because of these planets we are able to

understand that the magnetic field is something that can be easily taken away and that Earth is

lucky to still have one, so when will it flip.

When Will It Flip?

The next big question I asked myself when learning about the magnetic field is when will

a reversal happen? The Earth’s magnetic field is constantly moving and changing because it is

based off the movement of liquid iron in the Earth’s core. Due to this dynamic fluid motion, the

magnetic North and South pole can wander because they are not fixed into position; recently

they are wandering “by as much as 40 kilometers (25 miles) per year. (Field Flip Ahead?)” And

with that wandering “the overall strength of the magnetic field strength of has weakened by

about 9% over the past 175 years. (Field Flip Ahead?)” These facts would lead someone to

assume that the magnetic field is surely going to flip soon, but scientists are hesitant to give a

general date or range as to when the magnetic field will flip.

A magnetic field flip is called a reversal. Reversals have occurred on our planet since the

beginning of time. This can be proven by looking at clearly documented paleomagnetic records.
 Haskins 4

These paleomagnetic records are basically rock samples that show where the North and South

poles were during that time. When rocks cool off from their molten state, they seal in the

direction of the North pole. This record can be compared to other rock samples found at different

depths of the Earth to see when the magnetic field changed directions. . From the samples

collected from around the globe, they show that on average the Earth has a reversal once every

250,000 years (Field Flip Ahead?). Based off these statistics the Earth is long overdue for a flip

The last reversal to occur on the planet Earth was roughly 780,000 years ago (Field Flip Ahead?).

Generally, what is expected before a reversal occurs is that the overall strength of the magnetic

field will weaken to a point where it moves freely about the Earth where as normally it is

“locked” into place. As stated earlier, the Earth’s magnetic field has weakened by about “9%

over the last 175 years”, this might sound like a significant drop in strength in a short time period

but it all depends on a person’s perspective (Field Flip Ahead?). If you look at a time frame of

the last 100,000 years, then you would see that “we’re near an uptick” in the geological time

scale. Meaning that even though our magnetic field is weakening it is still strong enough to resist

flipping. According to computer models based off Driscoll, a staff scientist for Carnegie

Institution for Science, and other geophysicists, a magnetic field can be stable while moving

around its side of the planet but then randomly flips sides and precedes to do the same thing

again. If a reversal would happen today it could interfere or even destroy today’s technology that

so heavily depends on satellites. The magnetic field would weaken to the point where it would

not be able to provide sufficient protection against the solar wind. This would damage crucial

parts of the space craft that would not allow it to relay information back to the ground. Enough

about the satellites, what about the humans?! The Earth would “lose its ability to fend off solar

outbursts. Even a relatively modest solar flare or coronal mass ejection could pump enough
 Haskins 5

electrical energy into the lower atmosphere to blow transmission lines over wide regions of the

planet” leading the planet into power outages that would affect hundreds of millions of people

(Field Flip Ahead?).

What Do Scientists Think Will happen?

Well scientists are confident that they know what to expect if the magnetic field were to

undergo a reversal. The event would start by a gradual weakening of the magnetic field,

followed by a thousand or so years of constant movement from the poles, then the poles would

switch sides and settle down on the opposite side of the planet from where they started . During

those years of significantly reduced magnetic field strength, the Earth’s surface would be

exposed to more harmful particles and radiation such as solar winds, or cosmic rays which can

have lasting effects on the DNA if it were to pass through a living being. During this period,

peoples risk for cancer or other mutations would be significantly higher due to these particles

whizzing through our planet. This could spark a new evolution growth for our planet. If DNA

and other molecules in our bodies are being changed by the increased radiation, maybe a new

organ or a new type of cell will develop helping our species survive in this new environment.

This would also apply for other species on our planet such as planets who would experience an

increase in growth because the plants will be getting more heat and radiation than they

previously did before. From history we can tell that human and other living beings have survived

during this dramatically reduced period of field strength. So humanity will live, but our

technological advances might not. Most of our modern-day equipment rely heavily on electricity

and radio signals These signals have always been protected from our star by the magnetic field;

well once our field goes down, there is nothing to protect them. If the sun were to unleash a solar

flare at the Earth during this reversal, most of the power grids around the world would be wiped
 Haskins 6

out for a long period of time, this is because the particles released from the sun tamper and

disrupted the flow of electrons in the power lines that power our cities. These solar flares could

paralyze our technological advances that would allow us to communicate across the globe.

Maybe with this new challenge, we could find other ways of communication that does not

involve sending signals into space. Knowing that it will be awhile before our society will have to

face this reality, humanity will have time to figure out ways to combat technical issues that might

arise.

Could Humans Make Their Own Magnetic Field?

If Earth’s magnetic field were to be destroyed or not fully functioning for a few thousand

years, is it possible with current technology to make our own magnetic field to replace Earth’s? I

think it would be possible, all you would need is a lot of power and a giant magnet. I am unsure

how effective it will be to deflect particles from the sun, and deflecting solar flares, but it sounds

like it is possible. In fact, it is. According to physics.org, a website that publishes news about

technological advances, scientists from around the globe gathered last year in Washington D.C.

to attend NASA’s “Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop” in which researches discuss future

idea for space exploration. One of these ideas was to place a magnetic dipole shield at the L1

Lagrange Point to allow the planet to restore its own magnetic field naturally. This location, the

L1 Langrange Point, is a position where the gravitational forces felt on the object are equal

between the planet and the sun, this would keep the object in position between the two. The

selected location is crucial because at the L1 Langrange Point, the magnetic dipole shied will

provide enough protected and is far enough away from the planet Mars to keep the solar winds

away from the planets already fragile magnetic field. The location would also protect the two

weak points in the Martian magnetic field that are located over the northern polar cap and the
 Haskins 7

equatorial zone. The idea would be tested in a simulation of the Martian planet, and it showed

that if the magnetic shield was placed at the L1 Langrange Point, the planet would have “an

average of about four degrees Celsius” (NASA Proposes). This increase would be enough to melt

the polar ice caps, which then would lead to a greenhouse effect raising the temperature even

further. Just this slight change in the Martian climate could lead to a new habitable planet that

humans could one day colonize. Using this technology meant for Mars, it is possible for humans

to protect Earth from the sun’s radiation during a time of reduced magnetic field strength.

How do we create a Magnetic field?

If we can make a magnetic field shield generator for Mars, how would we go about

creating the magnetic field? First before we create a magnetic field for a planet we first might

want to consider making one for a space ship to protect astronauts. These astronauts would need

protection if they were to travel into deep space or to other planets from cosmic and solar

radiation to prevent physical damage to their bodies. One idea has came to life from the

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory that could revolutionize the way we think about protecting

spaceships from radiation. From their research a thumb-sized magnet could protect an entire

spaceship from the dangers of radiation that could harm the occupants inside. According to Kyle

VanHemert, who writes for Gizmodo, a website that reports new technologies, When the solar

winds’ magnetic field meet the rocks little magnetic field, the two-field clash exerting a force

onto one another. From this clash the rocks magnetic field disrupt the solar wind particles

separating the positively charged protons from the negatively charged electrons, allowing the

protons to pass through while holding onto the electrons. This collision of the two magnetic

fields can “generate intense electric fields up to a million times stronger than the magnetic field

that created them” (VanHemert, Kyle). This ends up creating a magnetic field that is large
 Haskins 8

enough and strong enough to encompass an entire spaceship, and all it takes is a little rock to be

kept on board. This creation can help humans protect themselves from the dangers that comes

with space travel, allowing for humans to be safer while traveling from point A to point B.

Conclusion

If the Earth were to under go a magnetic field reversal today, society would be fine and be able to

carry on with their normal life if NASA is able to prove a shield generator for the planet.. Lucky

for humanity, I do not believe a magnetic field will reverse for a very long time. From the data

collected by scientists, the Earth’s magnetic field is strong and healthy, yes it has weakened a bit

over the past 175 years but that is expected over time. Also, our field is still currently over the

historic average, so there is no need to fear. From this inquiry, I believe that scientists need to

focus their research on the strength of the magnetic field and find different ways that humans can

protect themselves from solar and cosmic radiation, and protect our current technology. This

could also prompt the question to what are other new ways of transmitting power other than by

power cables? Or can we use this new technology to terraform other worlds to become more like

ours? If we can add a magnetic shield to the planet Mars to make it habitable when it started off

with no magnetic field, could possible reduce the strength of a magnetic field to cool the planet

down? Because if we can terraform a world without having to physically touch the planet I think

that would allow humans to live anywhere it wants. As of now, doomsday has been adverted, and

we should all sigh in relief as we look forward to the next possible disaster to advert.

Works Cited
 Haskins 9

Choi, Charles Q. “Earth's Core Has Another Layer, Scientists Claim.” LiveScience, Purch, 8

Dec. 2010, www.livescience.com/10324-earth-core-layer-scientists-claim.html. Accessed

03 April 2018.

Naeye, Robert. "Field Flip Ahead?" Sky & Telescope, vol. 135, no. 3, Mar. 2018, pp. 16-21.

EBSCOhost, librarylink.uncc.edu/login?

url=http://search.ebscohost.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=127708249&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed 01 March

2018.

NASA, NASA, science.nasa.gov/heliophysics/focus-areas/magnetosphere-ionosphere Accessed

03 April 2018.

“NASA Proposes a Magnetic Shield to Protect Mars' Atmosphere.” Phys.org - News and Articles

on Science and Technology, phys.org/news/2017-03-nasa-magnetic-shield-mars-

atmosphere.html. Accessed 29 April 2018.

Redd, Nola Taylor. “How Was Earth Formed?” Space.com, www.space.com/19175-how-was-

earth-formed.html. Access 03 April 2018.

VanHemert, Kyle. “How a Tiny Magnet Could Produce a Force Field Big Enough To Protect a

Space Ship.” Gizmodo, Gizmodo.com, 29 July 2010, gizmodo.com/5598691/how-a-tiny-

magnet-could-produce-a-force-field-big-enough-to-protect-a-space-ship. Accessed 29

April 2018

What Causes the Earth's Magnetic Field? Explore, www.physics.org/article-questions.asp?id=64.

Accessed 03 April 2018

Haskins 10