flipping of earth's poles

Have you observed a magnet flip? Civilization wasn't around to observe an Earth flip.

Mitch Raemsch

There is a solid magnetic record at the sea bottom. Where the magma is welling up in the mid-ocean ridge, the cooling magma freezes the current magnetic field. You can read that local field with a dragged magneto meter. And the record shows the ancient fields for millions of years. You dont have to be around in the past to read the record now. I hope this explanation does not hurt your head.

You mean it is magnetic itself. Shouldn't the Earth's new magentic field influence this now permanent magnetic?

What does it measure?

What are they doing?

We don't even have a complete theory of magnetism and also magnetic flip has never been observed.

Mitch Raemsch

To be as clear as I can: what is the sign of the flip at the oceans bottom?

You know anything about magnetism ? There is a stone record of north/south....south north reversals. And no, molten rock is not magnetic. When the molten rock cools down and becomes solid, it "remembers" the orientation of the magnetic field at that time. Examine some hundreds of miles of sea bottom, and you know the history of the magnetic field over millions of years. Now you can resume trolling.

But what exactly is measured?

I know that magnetic theory is incomplete as are all theories. Mitch Raemsch

You are trolling in more than one newgroup by asking totally demented questions. Like this last one.

If you don't know what is being measured you have no claim.

Mitch Raemsch

I haven't read those. Is it possible to find out if the change is uniform over the globe?

/BAH

One way to accurately determine the period is to watch the sunspots. The sunspots are regions where the magnetic flux lines are either leaving the surface of the sun or going into the surface of the sun. Early in the cycle, astronomers see only two sunspots. One big sunspot is at each pole of the sun. The sunspots break up into many sunspots, and move toward the opposite pole. Each sunspot has a partner (north-south). In about 11 years., the sunspots coalesce at the opposite pole from where they started. So the poles flip every 11 years. The actual cycle is every 22 years. That is when sun goes back to the initial configuration.

Its not. The earth has magnetic hot spots. Based on the existence of these hot spots, there is a hypothesis that the earth becomes a multipole system during the reversal. Instead of having just a two north south poles, earth has many north-south pairs. The original north-pole south pole system splits into many north-pole, south pole systems.

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Sorry I don't have a newer refrences. A simplified model is presented in the book, "Mathematics for Dynamics Modeling," by Edward Beltrami (Academic Press, 1987) pages 196-202. This chapter simplifies the whole discussion into an equivalent circuit. However, the model presupposes the idea that helical motion of a conductor in a magnetic field can produce electric current. I have some distant memory of do an electromagnetic theory problem where I considered the helical motion of a conductor. Try J. D. Jackson, "Electromagnetic Theory".

Let me say you sound much better. I like the new Burt. Thank you for the sharp question. In any case, the magnetic field seems to be flipping now. The north pole of the earth has been wandering southward very slowly for the last hundered years, and getting a bit weaker. Compasses have had to be modified to take into account this slow shift. I don't think the flip will be complete with the next thousand years. However, the shift of the magnetic poles is significant and has been measured. I am not sure what scientists extrapolate for this shift. I wouldn't trust hundred year extrapolations of for a process that has a periodicity of 300,000 years. It depends a lot on the duty cycle of this periodic reversal, which may depend on many factors. There are magnetic hot spots on the earth. The magnetic field of the earth is shifting slowly, and weakening. The poles are breaking apart as shown by the hot spots. This probably is related to the 300,000 year cycle, but I can't be sure. Fortunately, we no longer need magnetic compasses. We now have GPS |:-)

ou

Pole movement is observed not a flip. Has the magnet on your refrigerator flipped lattely? If it hasn't been observed then it isn't proven.

Mitch Raemsch

Sorry I don't have a newer refrences. A simplified model is presented in the book, "Mathematics for Dynamics Modeling," by Edward Beltrami (Academic Press, 1987) pages 196-202. This chapter simplifies the whole discussion into an equivalent circuit. However, the model presupposes the idea that helical motion of a conductor in a magnetic field can produce electric current. I have some distant memory of do an electromagnetic theory problem where I considered the helical motion of a conductor. Try J. D. Jackson, "Electromagnetic Theory".

OK... Since I had $6.21 (including shipping and tax) burning a hole in my pocket, I popped for a used copy of Beltrami's book.

Should be here just after Independence Day.

I see no reason why the path (helical or otherwise) of a conductor should render our current lore about conductors in magnetic fields to be null and void.

Thanks for the reference.

Bill

To a certain extent the earth is always a multipole system. Its just that during reversals the dipole field is reduced in intensity by a much greater amount then quadrupole, octopole components. When the dipole is strong, the other components don't matter as much.

Stuart

Burt the Sun's magnetic field has flipped and yes we have observed it.

Are you a creationist by chance?

Stuart

" snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net"

Google "Solar Butterfly Diagram".

However, there is a much more direct way to determine the polarity and intensity of the Solar magnetic field.

Google "Zeeman Effect".

Stuart

Is there flipping after 11 years or "shifting slowly, and weakening" for the first 5.5 years?

the initial configuration.

Is an explanation for this phenomenon? S*