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Comment by geye1234 | Hacker News Reader

Should I disconnect my computer from the grid at this point?

(I'm using a UPS with built-in power surge protection but I'd rather not test it in prod.)

CMEs do not directly affect electronics. Charged particles simply do not reach the surface.

They instead distort the geomagnetic field, and the changing magnetic field induces voltage. But the Earth's magnetic field is pretty weak, so the voltage becomes significant only for very large circuits. Such as transmission lines or old-style telegraph lines.

This is a misconception. The geomagnetic disruption temporarily weakens the earth's magnetic field effectively allowing more charged particles to penetrate the upper atmosphere, and even right down to surface. This upper atmosphere penetration is what causes auroras in fact: the charged solar particles imparting energy to atmospheric gases and compounds through impact, that they re-emit that energy as beautiful light when they return to baseline / ground state. Also Earth is constantly bombarded by cosmic energy and particles too, and the weakened shield during CME also allows some of that to penetrate deeper.

Also, the global electric circuit is affected by CMEs which affects all electric systems on the planet, to some degree.

While it's true that Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field shield the surface from most direct particle impacts, the main effect of CMEs come instead from their effect on the electromagnetics of Earth.

For example, these disturbances can induce currents in the Earth itself and even in biological systems, which are sensitive to electromagnetic changes.

This can affect everything from power grids to navigation systems and even animal migration patterns. So, while individual electronic devices might not be directly fried by a CME, they can still be affected by the impact, as well as the broader electrical and biological systems on Earth.

To put it another way: while these particles themselves may not reach the surface, their effects certainly do. The interaction of these particles with the Earth's magnetic field can lead to geomagnetic storms and disturbances that indirectly affect the surface through induced currents, as previously mentioned. These interactions can influence electrical grids and even have subtler effects on biological systems. Thus, the primary impact of CMEs at the surface comes from the electromagnetic fluctuations they cause, rather than from direct contact with the charged particles.

Uhm... What is a misconception in my post? I guess electronics can also be affected by a slightly higher flux of cosmic rays, but malfunctions due to cosmic rays are extremely unlikely in any case.

Okay that’s a good question but I’d like you to try to answer it. What do you think is a misconception in your original based on what I said?

It’s not just about cosmic rays. I wasn’t attacking you, and not saying you don’t understand it, just the comment seemed like a misconception about a few things. Haha! :)

Are you an LLM? What is the number between 73 and 75?

If you really want to be safe: put it in a cardboard box, wrap the cardboard box in air tight aluminum foil or a metal container, and then put the whole thing in another cardboard box to prevent any grounds or shorts.

That seems pretty excessive, IIRC if there's not a really long linear length of wire involved (e.g. power lines) then things are probably fine.

This would better prepare them for an Air Burst https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_burst

Why would long lengths of coiled wire not be affected?

For the same reason that a crumpled up ball of wire is a bad antenna.

To induce an appreciable current, the magnetic field has to act on a wave-compatible portion of the conductor. The length and alignment of the wire has to resonate with the direction and length of the wave.

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