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Explaining the WinterField
The Earth's Magnetic Field
The geo-dynamo is the process that generates Earth's magnetic field, driven by the convection of electrically conducting liquid iron in the Earth's outer core.
Since its discovery in 1936, the rotation, speed, and direction of the inner core has been a topic of debate. But what seems to be overwhelmingly accepted is that it is slowing down. So slow in fact, that many scientists are predicting a reversal in its direction soon. But in geological terms, that could mean next year, or hundreds of thousands of years from now.
Seminal Event opens with this concerning fact:
Earth's magnetic poles have flipped hundreds of times over the past 160 million years, each reversal accompanied by centuries of a weakened magnetic field. During these vulnerable periods, the planet is left increasingly exposed to harmful cosmic rays and solar radiation—forces capable of wreaking havoc on life and technology. The last recorded reversal, the Brunhes-Matuyama event, occurred roughly 780,000 years ago, leaving humanity 400,000 years overdue for the next inversion. As the clock ticks down, humanity faces the daunting reality of navigating uncharted territory, confronting levels of cosmic exposure humankind has never been required to weather.
Seminal Event begins with the Earth facing a low-flow condition, a state where Earth can no longer product the geo-dynamo necessary to generate the planet's protective magnetic field.
Life is threatened and technology destroyed by the unmitigated bombardment of cosmic energy. The world responds, dividing the population into three classes: Academics- the gifted, Subterraneans - the hard working, and the Homesteaders - the forgotten.
Humanities response to this extinction level event, the WinterField - humanities last hope.
The WinterField
In the story, Seminal Event, humanity faces an extinction level event when the Earth enters a Stagnant Core State (SCS), a catastrophic condition where the planets core can no longer generate the planets magnetic field.
To combat this extinction level event, the Circumterrestrial Faraday Array (CFA) was launched. A 10,000-satellite constellation that cast a protective Faraday mesh around the planet. The system designed in Seminal Event was not without issues, one of which, plunges the planet into an artificial ice age. Hence, the Circumterrestrial Faraday Array would forever be known as the WinterField.
In theory, a network of satellites could be designed to reduce cosmic radiation exposure on Earth, but the system would face significant challenges.
In the near future, humanity might have a few ways to deploy a protective shield around the plant. A few concepts might be:
1) Plasma Shielding: The use of Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellites to emit ionized plasma clouds. This could provide localized protection, but the satellites would require continuous replenishment.
2) Physical absorption: This would require an extremely dense network of satellites, blanketing the planet with a radiation-absorbing material. The shear number of satellites and amount of material makes this approach highly unfeasible.
3) Electromagnetic shielding (The WinterField): This would require 10,000 to 100,000 satellites, each with equipped with strong magnetic field generators. In theory, this approach would deflect cosmic radiation similar to the way our Magnetosphere currently works. The quantity of satellites would be dependent on the size of each magnetic field generator and the percentage of coverage required.
Localized shielding is already in practice-such as for the space station and soon for Mars bound spacecraft. Could a system be scaled to a planetary system? Not today, but perhaps in the near future.
Exploring Science Through Fiction
