Internet Apocalypse: Planning for A Digital Disaster

The universe is home to many spectacular phenomena, and among them are solar storms – awe-inspiring eruptions of energy from the Sun that can wreak havoc on our modern way of life. In the age of the internet, where our daily activities heavily depend on a vast network of interconnected devices (IoT) and mobile communications, the consequences of a powerful solar storm hitting Earth could be catastrophic. This blog post explores the potential for global technological collapse, accompanied by an internet apocalypse.

The internet apocalypse would be the result of a shutdown of communications and power grids on Earth potentially lasting for months. We’ll also discuss the critical role of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe in possibly lessening the effects of such a disaster.

Understanding Solar Storms and Their Impact

The sun is tremendously dynamic and powerful. Its activity which is felt on Earth is responsible for the sublime aurora visible at the poles at night but also for satellite disruption and communications blackouts. Were it not for the magnetosphere, which provides a protective barrier from cosmic radiation, the bulk of material ejected would decimate life on the planet.

Solar storms, caused by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) release explosive bursts of charged particles and electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. They are mesmerizing phenomena that occur from time to time. Solar storms are trigger solar flares. These flares generate solar wind, which is an outward expansion of charged particles from the Sun’s corona at speeds of one to two million miles per hour.

Unlike wind on Earth, solar wind is much less dense but extremely energetic and travels at much faster speed. It usually takes days for the energy of a released CME from its observation to the time it takes to reach Earth. Some stronger storms, like the Carrington event, reach the planet is as little as 17.6 hours to traverse 96 million miles (150km).

Every 11 years the sun experiences maxima or cycle peaks of activity. Sunspots or dark areas on the sun can emit solar wind and these correlate with cycle peaks.

 

 

The increased frequency of coronal mass ejections during the solar cycle peak, expected in 2025, raises the risk of serious disruption to Earth’s communications and power infrastructure. There has been a large increase of solar activity being detected since 2021 in the form of satellites dropping from the sky as scientists monitor the space weather produced by the sun. Data indicates this storm season is going to get worse..

The Menace of Solar Storms

Understanding Solar Storms: Nature’s Apocalypse

The Carrington event of 1859 stands as the most powerful recorded solar storm in history, causing chaos with telegraph systems and igniting fires across the globe. The geomagnetic storm produced from the solar wind surrounded the earth with auroral energy. It completely devastated the fledgling communication technology (telegraph) on the planet and was so charged with energy telegraph stations caught flames, errant sparks caused fires. Other telegraph stations reported that they could transmit using the auroral energy in the air, having turned the power off!

Aurorae, normally only visible at the poles, became visible in Honolulu. According to the History channel, people thought the world was ending while others though the sun was rising at night as they watched the skies in terror and communication infrastructure on Earth came to a stop.

 

 

Today, our world is much more interconnected and new 5G networks, a similar event could have devastating consequences not just for communications. It will disrupt any devices that conduct electricity, thus endangering power grids, satellites, smart homes, oil and power grids, and communication networks.

The resulting geomagnetic storm would lead to total technological collapse and loss of the internet for months. Some researchers think that the CME can cause the methane in the air to ignite, killing everything on the planet.  That view however, is still a far-out theory.

When is the Next Carrington Event?

While the chances of a solar storm triggering a cataclysmic internet outage are low, the threat is still significant. A solar storm as powerful as the Carrington event is expected only every 500 years. Smaller storms, even half the size, can cause an internet apocalypse though space weather is notoriously difficult to predict. From a long-term perspective, that another Carrington event will occur is almost certain.

A study conducted by Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi estimated a 1.6% to 12% chance of an extended internet disruption within the next decade due to a solar storm. The internet without solar storms requires $7 billion of maintenance per day. Although such a scenario is not unprecedented, with past solar storms causing significant blackouts and disruptions, the scale of a potential internet apocalypse demands serious attention.

 

As our reliance on the internet and digital infrastructure grows, the vulnerability to solar storms becomes increasingly concerning. The internet’s infrastructure, built over the past three decades, is ill-prepared to withstand the impact of a superstorm on the magnitude of the Carrington event. The consequences could include widespread blackouts, loss of internet access for months, disrupted satellite operations, and even the collapse of financial systems, affecting our ability to travel, communicate, and navigate in a technology-driven    .

The Impending Solar Storm and Its Consequences

The emergence of a massive solar storm has raised concerns about the “internet apocalypse.” Within the next decade, some say, the Earth could be left without internet access for months if such a solar storm were to strike. The consequences of such an event would be devastating, with billions of dollars in losses to the global economy and disruption of essential supply chains for food and medicine.

 

Section III: The Parker Solar Probe: A Mission to Prevent Disaster

The Parker Solar Probe, launched by NASA in 2018, is a revolutionary spacecraft designed to study the Sun’s corona and solar wind. Contrary to popular belief associating the term “internet apocalypse” with NASA, it seems that the origin can be traced back to a 2021 research paper by a University of California scholar. This paper delved into the potential impact of a solar superstorm, which has the capacity to cause extensive global internet disruptions lasting for several months.

To mitigate the risks posed by solar storms, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe mission in 2018. Named after Dr. Eugene N. Parker, who pioneered our understanding of the Sun, the spacecraft aims to “touch the Sun” and revolutionize our understanding of solar activity. The probe will complete 24 orbits around the Sun, flying more than seven times closer than any spacecraft before it. Their findings so far are published in Physical Review Letters.

By flying closer to the Sun than any previous mission, the probe aims to gather critical data and unlock the mysteries of solar activity. Its cutting-edge instruments, including the Fields Experiment (FIELDS), Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun, Wide Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR), and Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons (SWEAP), enable scientists to measure and analyze the Sun’s environment. This article explores the objectives of the Parker Solar Probe mission and how it contributes to our understanding of solar storms and their potential impact on Earth.

Hopefully some practical advantage of mitigating the damage is discovered but there’s no possibility of preventing a CME from reaching Earth. It can provide a warning and help to mitigate the risk and that may be enough.

At its closest approach, the Parker Solar Probe will come within about 3.9 million miles of the Sun, enduring temperatures reaching nearly 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, protected by a 4.5-inch-thick carbon-composite shield. The mission aims to trace the flow of energy, study the solar corona’s heating, and explore what accelerates the solar wind. Crucially, the probe’s instruments will study magnetic fields, plasma, energetic particles, and image the solar wind.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission has already provided groundbreaking insights into solar wind generation. The probe discovered that the solar wind could be fueled by small-scale jets of energy called “jetlets” at the base of the corona. This finding enhances our understanding of how the solar wind is accelerated and heated. The data gathered by the mission holds the key to predicting and mitigating the effects of solar storms.

Predicting Solar Storms: Preparing for the Internet Apocalypse

With the Sun’s 11-year solar cycle ramping up, the risk of a major solar storm striking Earth is more significant than ever. Scientists believe that it is only a matter of time before a superstorm occurs during this cycle, some saying this decade. The PSP’s data will be instrumental in aiding predictions and enhancing our ability to prepare and protect ourselves from the impending threat.

By gaining a deeper understanding of the solar wind, NASA aims to develop strategies and technologies to mitigate the effects of solar storms on communication networks. This includes strengthening satellites, power cables, and other infrastructure to withstand the adverse conditions and maintain uninterrupted internet access.

There is another way that an internet apocalypse can occur. Nuclear devices are equipped to wipe out communications simultaneously.

The impact of human-induced electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack and the solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) NASA is studying up close is the same: Internet apocalypse. While both can have devastating effects on our technological infrastructure, they differ in their causes, characteristics, and potential consequences.

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a burst of electromagnetic radiation that can disrupt or damage electronic devices. A solar storm is a unique form of electromagnetic pulse. But a thermonuclear detonation can release a pulse that instantly shuts downs sections of the power grid and wipe out communication.

Human-Induced EMP Attacks

A human-induced EMP attack involves the use of a nuclear explosion to generate an EMP. When a nuclear bomb detonates in the atmosphere, it releases a burst of energy that includes a powerful EMP. The EMP travels through the atmosphere, inducing electrical currents in conductive materials and damaging or destroying electronic devices within its range.  China has first-strike capability against the U.S. and any country for that matter. It could cause an internet apocalypse as well.

The main characteristic of a human-induced EMP is its extremely fast initial phase, which occurs within billionths of a second. This phase can travel hundreds of miles from the detonation point and has the potential to permanently damage unshielded semiconductor electronic equipment. The subsequent phases of an EMP can also cause further damage to electronics and electrical infrastructure, such as high-voltage power lines and transformers.

Solar Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)

While a solar CME can potentially disrupt the Earth’s electrical grid, electronic devices not connected to the grid would generally remain unharmed. The primary impact of a solar CME on the internet infrastructure lies in its ability to damage long-distance optical fiber lines and submarine cables, which are crucial components of the global internet network. It doesn’t help that the fiber cables are surrounded by salt water which is electrically conductive.

Key Differences between Human EMP and Solar CME

Now that we have a basic understanding of human-induced EMP attacks and solar CMEs, let’s explore the key differences between these two sources of potential internet apocalypse:

1. Source: Human-induced EMP attacks are caused by the detonation of a nuclear bomb, while solar CMEs are natural events occurring on the Sun.
2. Speed and Duration: The initial phase of a human-induced EMP occurs within billionths of a second, whereas the effects of a solar CME can last for an extended period, potentially causing internet outages lasting several months.
3. Range of Impact: A human-induced EMP can travel hundreds of miles from the detonation point, affecting a significant fraction of the world’s electrical grid. In contrast, the impact of a solar CME is influenced by its interaction with the Earth’s magnetic field and GIC (geomagnetically induced current)

The internet apocalypse and technological breakdown on Earth can be caused by a solar storm. It is a genuine concern in our technology-driven era. The Carrington event of 1859 serves as a haunting reminder of the devastation such a storm could inflict on our modern way of life. While such an event is likely every 500 years, a storm half the size could do unprecedented damage to the current internet infrastructure of fiber optic cables.

If the future internet is mostly satellite based, satellites are having issues (they are dropping) from recent solar activity. It could cause serious problems for the growing private space industry. The unusually high levels of solar activity during this cycle is coincidental with the rise of on-orbit satellites made for manufacturing in space. SpaceX has been launching many satellites into orbit and solar activity may cause them to drop to Earth. CMEs will have a serious impact and costs on private space companies and on orbit manufacturing.