Quote:
Originally Posted by lkb0714
What would a large electromagnetic event be?
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The only thing that comes to mind would be a Solar Flare in the X7-X9 Class.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lkb0714
What possible mechanism is there for ELF to breakdown the ionosphere?
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None. ELF is non-ionizing.
Not ionizing....
Mircea
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kansarado
Wat?
I don't even know what you're talking about.
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There are two kinds of electromagnetic radiation: ionizing and non-ionizing.
Everything from UV (Ultra Violet light) to the right of the spectrum is ionizing radiation. That includes UV, gammas and X-rays, which are emitted by the Sun.
Everything to the left of UV light, which is all of your colors, then Infrared, then your radio waves starting with microwave, then radar, TV/FM, Shortwave and AM Radio.
Ionizing radiation begets ionizing radiation, meaning ionizing radiation in and of itself creates ionizing radiation. Non-ionizing radiation does not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kansarado
So is the consensus that a weakened ionsphere will not cause an increase in global warming?
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No, it will not.
Your atmosphere consists of the Troposphere, which is maybe 11 Miles from sea level to top, then a thin boundary that separates the Troposphere from the Stratosphere.
All weather takes place in the Troposphere only.
The Stratosphere occupies the next 25 miles or so, and then then boundary between the Stratosphere and the Mesosphere is the Ozone Layer. The Mesosphere occupies the next 35 to 40 miles and then starts the Thermosphere which is the same thing as the Ionosphere.
One thing you should instantly recognize, is that by the time you get to the Stratosphere, the air pressure is only ~10% of sea level. In other words, at standard temperature, the air pressure at sea level should be about 1 Atmosphere, and then at the Tropopause (the boundary between the Troposphere and Stratosphere) the air pressure is 0.1 Atmospheres.
So what can you say about the air pressure in the Ionosphere, and how would that affect the density of the Ionosphere?
Well, the Ionosphere is not very dense at all.
If you heated the Ionosphere, what would happen? We apply Boyle's Law which is the relationship between pressure, temperature and volume of a gas (and some liquids). Heating the Ionosphere should in theory cause the volume to expand, which would reduce its density. But to reduce the effect of the Ionosphere, you'd have to expand it quite a bit.
As the Earth moves through space, the outer atmosphere comes into contact with solar particles and creates a sort of magnetic shield that strips out most of the gammas and X-rays, but not so much UV light.
The Ionosphere is then ionized (and negatively charged) by these gammas, X-rays and UV light. That ionization interferes with radio communications, especially in the AM and Shortwave Bands, and to a lesser extent in the TV/FM (UHF/VHF/FM) Bands.
The Ozone Layer then strips out most, but not all of the UV, gammas and X-rays.
The remainder that reach Earth are part of the Natural Background Radiation, and the other half of that equation is radiation from the decay of radio-isotopes in the Earth's crust.
You should understand that Earth being as close to the Sun as it is will obviously affect temperature, but that will be rectified on December 21, 2012.
It's just coincidence that the Earth's Perigee will occur then. The Earth's orbit will be as circular as it gets, and we will be closer to the Sun than at any time in recorded history, and from that day forward, the Earth very, very slowly will start drifting away from the Sun into a more elliptical orbit.
That is part of the 100,000 year Mankovitch Cycle. In about 5,000 to 10,000 years glaciers will start driving Canadians out of Canada into the US, and we'll have to put up with their silliness.
Ionizing...
Mircea