The Sign in the Sun

Our Earth rotates on its axis (spin) while it circles aroundthe Sun. Geographic north and south poles are determined by theearth’s spin. These are the locations on earth through which the axis of theearth’s spin passes.  It is like holding a tennis ball between the thumband forefinger and pushing on the side to make it spin. The points where yourthumb and finger make contact are the geographic north and south poles of thetennis ball’s spin. On the other hand, earth’s magnetic field is caused bycirculating currents of liquid iron in the outer core. Magnetic north andsouth are determined by the direction a compass points. Furthermore, themagnetic pole near earth’s geographic north pole is actually the south magneticpole. When it comes to magnets, opposites attract which means that the northend of a magnet in a compass is attracted to the south magnetic pole,which lies close to the geographic north pole. Magnetic field lines outside ofa permanent magnet always run from the north magnetic pole to the southmagnetic pole. Therefore, the magnetic field lines of the earth run from thesouthern geographic hemisphere towards the northern geographic hemisphere. Thisis a sufficient description which leaves no scope for confusing magnetic poleswith the geographic poles.  In addition tothat, it is pertinent to mention that when viewed from above the celestialnorth, the Earth appears to be rotating counter-clockwise. Because of this, tothose standing on the Earth’s surface, the Sun appears to be moving around usin a westerly direction at a rate of 15° an hour (or 15′ a minute), with an”apparent motion” that takes it from east to west.

However, the earth’s magnetic poles are constantly changinglocation relative to earth’s geographic poles. Doom-mongers have predicted that a swap of the magnetic poles from northto south would shift the continents so fiercely that it would trigger massearthquakes. This would equivalently mean that sun will then rise from the newwest.  Geologic record shows hundreds ofpole reversals have occurred through Earth’s history. It is caused by patchesof iron atoms in our liquid outer core getting reverse-aligned, as if thesewere small magnets oriented in the opposite direction with respect to othersaround them. If reversed ions expand to the stage they outpower the others, theEarth’s overall magnetic field “flips”. For now, there is a growingpatch of reverse alignment in the liquid core beneath Brazil and the SouthAtlantic.

   

Currently, the magnetic south pole lies about ten degrees distant from the geographic north pole, and sits in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska. The north end on a compass therefore currently points roughly towards Alaska and not exactly towards geographic north.  Similarly, the north magnetic pole is quite a sensitive place, says Phil Livermore, a geophysicist at the University of Leeds. James Clark Ross first located magnetic north in 1831 in the scattered islands of Canada’s Nunavut territory. Since then, the pole has largely marched north, traversing hundreds of miles over the last several decades.  In the mid 1900s, the north magnetic pole was lumbering along at less than a hundred feet each day, adding up to less than seven miles of difference each year. But in the ’90s, this started to change, chugging along at some 34 miles each year. Magnetic north has never sat still but its routine plod has shifted into high gear in recent years and no one can entirely explain why. The changes have been so large that scientists began working on an emergency update for the World Magnetic Model. But then the U.S. government shut down, placing the model’s official release on hold, as Nature News first reported in early 2019.

Climate researchers also believe that we are heading towards a reversal of the planet’s magnetic field, which some fear will lead to the end of the human race and even have wiped out the neanderthals.  Moreover, it is a scientifically accepted fact that the magnetic field of earth has got significantly weaker over the past 160 years which could mean that we are heading for a big polar reversal, that may happen any time between 1,000 to 10,000 years. Researchers say that Earth’s magnetic field could dangerously weaken leaving us at the mercy of solar storms when radiation and X-rays are ejected from the Sun towards our planet. The corneal ejections are so powerful that they lead to the stunning Northern Lights auroras visible in the northern hemisphere, but our magnetic field protects us from the true effects. With a weak field, this shielding is less efficient. Without a magnetic field, or with a significantly reduced one it could destroy global communications facilities, power supplies, and lead to fires. Who may or may not survive, but one thing is clear though that another flip WILL happen at some stage as our magnetic field has already weakened. As the magnetic poles flip, in that case, they will either have to reprint all of the magnetic compasses, or just decide that the Atlantic Ocean is the west coast of the US. In the latter case, the sun will rise where it always did, but it will be called the WEST.

Dr. Qudsia Gani is Faculty (Physics), Cluster University Srinagar

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