The topic of magnetism came up in our class, and in this lecture, my teacher said that the north geographic pole in our compass (or magnets in general) points towards the south magnetic pole of Earth. Adding the fact that our magnetic field flips every hundred thousands of years, how will it affect us and our daily living? The most I can think of is that our current compasses will become obsolete. What are your thoughts?
Thank you for answering!!
In: Planetary Science
Hand held magnetic compasses aren’t nearly as common or as commonly used these days. Knowing which direction is north (or south) isn’t remotely as useful as GPS – and even $30 phones have GPS with updated maps these days.
So in your day to day life, there would be zero impact if the magnetic field flipped in a very short time (which it won’t, we know it takes decades to move)
Migratory birds and fish that use magnetic fields would have ample time to adapt, as multiple generations would pass while the field was moving to the other side.
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