Protection Against Solar Flares: Challenge For Engineers

It has been just a week since the Sun released a powerful flare off its surface. Though it was not the strongest ever, it was massive wave of magnetic plasma spit out by the sun in the outer space. Scientists say that there might be more of such solar flares which can be even bigger in the coming year. Now, what are these solar flares and why does an engineer need to know about it? These are the obvious questions that can come in anyone’s mind. Here are the answers.

Firstly, let us talk about what is a solar flare?

[​IMG]In a simple language, solar flare is a sudden explosion taking place on the sun’s surface. Basically, it is an explosion caused by sudden release of magnetic energy. Such an explosion heats up the plasma to millions Kelvin (temperature) and speeds up protons, electrons and the other heavier ions to near light speeds ejecting them in outer space. Such ejections are called as solar prominence by scientists. Ejection of such particles produces electromagnetic rays ranging from radio waves to gamma rays. Solar flares mostly occur in region nearer to the sunspots.

The sun undergoes alternate solar cycles called ‘active’ cycle and ‘quiet (passive)’ cycle. Each of the cycle lasts for around 11 years. There is an increase in frequency of flares during the active cycle of the sun. 1st of such solar flare was observed way back in the year 1859.

Now why an engineer must be aware of this thing? The reason for this is the effects that such flares produce on earth. The flares affect three major sectors –

    [*]Communication systems and GPSs:


The UV and X-rays that are emitted during such flare affect earth’s ionosphere. Thus it disrupts short wave radio communication. All the ships way inside the enormous oceans, cars, and smartphones use the GPS. A GPS measures the receiver’s distance from the respective satellite. So when the signal is passing through the ionosphere, it is delayed by a certain amount. The delay time depends upon the free electron count in the ionosphere. So, in case of a solar flare, the free electron count is unpredictable and hence introduces errors in measurements. The errors can be even fatal for aviation and military operations.

    [*]Electric grid failures:

The magnetic waves emitted because of a solar flare can produce surges in the transmission lines in a power grid.  This may cause spurious operations of the safety elements and may also cause a total breakdown of the grid.

    [*]Communication satellites:


The X-rays coming from the sum heat up the earth’s atmosphere. Heating causes the atmosphere to expand. If this expansion encroaches the satellite orbital altitudes, aerobraking of the satellites can take place. This can cause the satellites to slow down and thereby drop in altitude.

With the large interconnected grids now, the effects of such solar flares can be more severe. So, we must device something to shield our systems against further failures. And that is what we engineers do. Next year, the sun is going to be on the pinnacle of the active solar cycle. So more frequent and more powerful solar flares are expected in coming next year. So, next time if your GPS or satellite TV doesn’t work or you have sudden long power cuts, just check the internet for a solar flare news!

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