Nasa warns solar flares from 'huge space storm' will cause devastation:
Britain could face widespread power blackouts and be left without critical communication signals for long periods of time, after the earth is hit by a once-in-a-generation "Space storm", Nasa has warned.
Source 2
Solar Flares - Huge Space Storm (Hover)
I am a High Voltage Electrical Lineman by trade. What I have seen with similar phenomenon, is that the safety protocols we have in place in the modern system are working fairly well. Yes, there will be blackout under such conditions, but not to the long lasting scale as is being said. I may be wrong on this, but I've seen how these systems work and have maintained them myself, I am not terribly afraid.
I think that the main problem with the solar flare is that one region will be hit and the other regions will go down as they try to tap power from elsewhere and over load the system. Archcowboy can tell us more if this is a possibility and how long a system can be knocked out for.
My question is to Archcowboy since he is familiar with the system if this is a possibility for a large failure and how long such a failure could last?
There was supposed to be one of the biggest solar flares in the past five years across America... Well the whole world today but I didn't notice anything unless someone was affected by the use of electronic devices that work on wireless connections?
Are planets setting the sun's pace?
The Sun's activity is determined by the Sun's magnetic field. Two combined effects are responsible for the latter: The omega and the alpha effect. Exactly where and how the alpha effect originates is currently unknown. Researchers are now putting forward a new theory. Their calculations suggest that tidal forces from Venus, the Earth and Jupiter can directly influence the Sun's activity. Ref. Source 8i.