Slashdot Mirror
Attack of the Killer Electrons
Hugh Pickens writes "At the peak of a magnetic storm, the number of highly energetic 'killer electrons' strong enough to damage electronics and human tissue can increase by a factor of more than ten times, posing a danger to spacecraft, satellites, and astronauts. Killer electrons can penetrate satellite shielding, so if electrical discharges take place in vital components, a satellite can be damaged or even rendered inoperable. For many years, the mechanism by which killer electrons are produced has remained poorly understood, in spite of physicists' attempts at solving this puzzle. Now the ESA reports that data shows the increase in the creation of a substantial number of killer electrons is due to a two-step process. First, the initial acceleration is due to the strong shock-related magnetic field compression. Immediately after the impact of the interplanetary shock wave, Earth's magnetic field lines began wobbling at ultra low frequencies. In turn, these ULF waves effectively accelerate the seed electrons (provided by the first step) to become killer electrons. 'These new findings help us to improve the models predicting the radiation environment in which satellites and astronauts operate. With solar activity now ramping up, we expect more of these shocks to impact our magnetosphere over the months and years to come,' says Philippe Escoubet, ESA's Cluster mission manager."
Were you also implying that everything down there is on the subatomic scale?
Maybe if they wouldn't be so negative all the time, they wouldn't want to kill anyone.
You are now manually breathing.
Tin-foil hats, a bit of duct tape, don't forget to deposit sperm or ova before you go, and think of all the money you'll save by being able to glow in the dark ... even better than a CF bulb.
I'm not worried! The positrons will save us!
Okay that all sounds pretty reasonable, but explain the What In The Name of Jeebus Is That Nebula, or the I Couldn't Even Begin To Explain What's Going On Here Quasar.
The enemies of Democracy are
o noes! Beta rays have changed their name to killer electrons. We are doomed.
In case someone does not get the joke embedded in the title:
http://www.badmovies.org/movies/killtomato/killtomato-song.wav
Attaaaaaaack of the killer electrons!
I think the people who named those worked at the Mt. God I'm So Drunk Observatory.
For many years, the mechanism by which killer electrons are produced has remained poorly understood
Isn't it obvious? Climate Change of course.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
the runaway Toyotas.
like this: .-- --- --- -
--
"wootm" ???
In Soviet Russia a beowulf cluster of these things imagines you welcoming your new, neural-network overlords.