how come can sun explosions interfere with earth communication?
In: Physics
Solar flares/ Coronal Mass Ejctions as they’re called, occur when the sun’s magnet field suddenly “erupts” outwards. They end up sending **a lot** of charged particles hurtling towards earth. Now that in itself isn’t anything new. Solar winds carry charged particles to bombard earth 24/7 but most are deflected by earth’s own magnetic field.
But in the case of a large CME, the amount of charged particles is so large, the magnetic field of earth can’t shield all of them, and they enter the (lower) atmosphere. Since radio waves are a spectrum of the electromagnetic field, and charged particles interact electromagnetically, these particles end up interfering with all our coms signals
it’s like having a conversation with someone on the street when an ambulance comes by with it’s siren on, drowning out your conversation. A big burst of electromagnetic radiation from the sun can temporarily drown out the electromagnetic signals we use for communication
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