Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: 1 [2] 3

Author Topic: Solar Flares and Blackouts...  (Read 3312 times)

klingon13524

  • Bay Watcher
  • The Mongols are cool!
    • View Profile
Re: Solar Flares and Blackouts...
« Reply #15 on: August 11, 2011, 04:04:37 pm »

The main thing would be figuring out how you're going to keep .3 billion people alive for a couple years without a working infrastructure.
My guess is they would move to the parts of the globe that aren't affected by the solar flares. If it is world wide, then I imagine some sort of regression to 1800-1900ish technology, plus anarchy for at least the first few months.
Logged
By creating a gobstopper that never loses its flavor he broke thermodynamics
Maybe it's parasitic. It never loses its flavor because you eventually die from having your nutrients stolen by it.

Max White

  • Bay Watcher
  • Still not hollowed!
    • View Profile
Re: Solar Flares and Blackouts...
« Reply #16 on: August 11, 2011, 04:12:47 pm »

Great, because people needed another reason to riot.
Well I, for one, am going to start buying up brass steam boilers and mahogany while it is still cheep.

freeformschooler

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Solar Flares and Blackouts...
« Reply #17 on: August 11, 2011, 04:13:33 pm »

When can we start expecting actual flares? Today? Sometime later this year?
Logged

MetalSlimeHunt

  • Bay Watcher
  • Gerrymander Commander
    • View Profile
Re: Solar Flares and Blackouts...
« Reply #19 on: August 11, 2011, 04:15:33 pm »

When can we start expecting actual flares? Today? Sometime later this year?
Never. The solar flare scare is just another thing people are freaking out about that has little actual effect on reality, like Y2K.
Logged
Quote from: Thomas Paine
To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.
Quote
No Gods, No Masters.

freeformschooler

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Solar Flares and Blackouts...
« Reply #20 on: August 11, 2011, 04:17:47 pm »

Heh, Y2K. My library has a small section of books (approx. 4-5) about how you can survive Y2K. I read through some of them, laughing about the BS predictions inside.
Logged

Max White

  • Bay Watcher
  • Still not hollowed!
    • View Profile
Re: Solar Flares and Blackouts...
« Reply #21 on: August 11, 2011, 04:20:03 pm »

Ooh, do tell! I'll grab a notepad to collect any propaganda I can spread. If it worked for 2k computers, it can work for 2012 solar flairs.

PTTG??

  • Bay Watcher
  • Kringrus! Babak crulurg tingra!
    • View Profile
    • http://www.nowherepublishing.com
Re: Solar Flares and Blackouts...
« Reply #22 on: August 11, 2011, 04:30:19 pm »

When can we start expecting actual flares? Today? Sometime later this year?
Never. The solar flare scare is just another thing people are freaking out about that has little actual effect on reality, like Y2K.

We've already seen one in this cycle. It was a minor one, but yeah it hit earth. Ones in the past have had measurable, moderately serious effects, and we've seen large ones this cycle that simply weren't aimed at earth.

I've tried to be clear here that most of what I'm talking about is the most extreme worst case scenario- a perfect storm- and that the most likely outcome of the high period remains 0-2 major blackouts, 1 or more destroyed satellites, and probably some other miscellaneous weird stuff like really low auroras.
Logged
A thousand million pool balls made from precious metals, covered in beef stock.

Armok

  • Bay Watcher
  • God of Blood
    • View Profile
Re: Solar Flares and Blackouts...
« Reply #23 on: August 11, 2011, 04:42:54 pm »

*that weasel king SMPA emoticon thingy here*
Logged
So says Armok, God of blood.
Sszsszssoo...
Sszsszssaaayysss...
III...

PTTG??

  • Bay Watcher
  • Kringrus! Babak crulurg tingra!
    • View Profile
    • http://www.nowherepublishing.com
Re: Solar Flares and Blackouts...
« Reply #24 on: August 11, 2011, 04:58:14 pm »

*that weasel king SMPA emoticon thingy here*
Huh?
Logged
A thousand million pool balls made from precious metals, covered in beef stock.

PTTG??

  • Bay Watcher
  • Kringrus! Babak crulurg tingra!
    • View Profile
    • http://www.nowherepublishing.com
Re: Solar Flares and Blackouts...
« Reply #26 on: August 11, 2011, 05:32:34 pm »

Oh, that makes much more sense. Thank you.

I may be wrong about that 1/500 chance, actually. Ice cores show such large flares occur on a once-every-500 year basis. However, since it would only appear at the peak of the 11 year cycle, it's more accurate to say that it happens once in every 45.45 peaks. As such, the likelyhood of it striking this peak is 2.2%, instead of .2%.

Hmmm...

There's no support for that statement, so they might as well have said "Scientoligists are concerned..." yet, it has a ring of truthiness to it.
Logged
A thousand million pool balls made from precious metals, covered in beef stock.

Bloxace

  • Bay Watcher
  • You must dig deeper!
    • View Profile
Re: Solar Flares and Blackouts...
« Reply #27 on: August 11, 2011, 05:37:01 pm »

If this does occur, it will be a good excuse for people like me to make grand scale clockwork devises. Of course, this most likely won't happen, so no clockwork toasters today.
Logged
...Said Bloxace.

PTTG??

  • Bay Watcher
  • Kringrus! Babak crulurg tingra!
    • View Profile
    • http://www.nowherepublishing.com
Re: Solar Flares and Blackouts...
« Reply #28 on: August 11, 2011, 05:42:01 pm »

How will spinning gears heat toast?

This looks interesting.
Logged
A thousand million pool balls made from precious metals, covered in beef stock.
Pages: 1 [2] 3