Chapter 3 The drive to campus, though relatively short, is a pleasant one on most days. Despite the touch of gloom in the air, my elderly neighbors, Cynthia and Robert Sadler, are still taking their morning walk around the block, and they wave as I drive past. It’s a rare day, indeed, not to see them out for their early morning stroll, and they always have smiles on their faces. A few houses down the street a couple of children are excitedly riding their bikes up and down their driveway as their mother carefully watches over them from her front door. The older kids are headed to the bus stop with their backpacks overflowing with books, and three of the children keep looking back to yell at their dogs to go back home, advice the dogs are totally ignoring as they wag their tails and continue to trail after their young masters. Even though the houses on my street were only built in the past eight to ten years, the assortment of towering birch, hickory, and walnut trees surrounding our homes give the impression this area had been developed several years earlier. Since Prairie Circle is not a through street, the traffic flow has never been heavy making it a quiet and peaceful area in which to live. The birds are chirping happily, and there are at least half a dozen squirrels darting about collecting the fallen nuts to carry back to their hidden abodes within the trees in preparation for the long and cold winter months. Overhead a flock of birds fly south across the state on their migratory path to the warmer regions of the country. It is your typical October morning in Illinois. Upon reaching campus and parking my car, I rush to my office to start my computer so I can refresh my memory about the past solar flares I had studied as a college student, the very fascination which ultimately determined my future. In my freshman year of college, I still wasn’t sure what my major would be, only that I was interested in some field pertaining to science. As a sophomore, I decided to give Nuclear Engineering 101 a try, never imagining that the field would be of any interest to me. I needed three more college hours that semester, and a friend of mine had taken the class and found it to be interesting. In that class the professor introduced us to the history of nuclear science and the relationship between energy usage and quality of life. During that same semester I also learned about a severe geomagnetic storm in 1989 that caused the collapse of an entire electrical transmission system in Canada. The EMP that struck north of the United States had begun its voyage from the sun three days before reaching earth. Because it occurred during the Cold War, many people thought it could have been a nuclear strike. There was interference with short-wave radios, and some satellites in space were out of control for a matter of hours. Since for the most part Quebec sits on solid rock, there was not a proper flow of electrical current, and the power network went offline within ninety seconds creating a power failure that lasted for as long as nine hours in some areas. Before dawn that day, the skies over earth erupted in brilliant hues of green, purple and red. The resulting aurora could be seen as far south as Texas and Florida. To the shock of many people, the stunning display even pulsated over regions as far south as Hawaii, Cuba and the Bahamas. It was said that the skies were bright enough before the sun had arisen that a person could see well enough to read a newspaper. Solar flares can happen several times a century, and massive EMPs occur every five hundred years as indicated by data collected from studying the ice cores of Greenland. I was captivated with that one class and knew right away that nuclear engineering was the field for me. While absorbed in my research, to my surprise, there is a knock at my office door. My first appointment for the morning has arrived after all. I smile at the student entering my office as I turn off my computer to begin my day. My first class this morning is a senior level class, Introduction to Controlled Termonuclear Fusion. As all the students open their laptops or tablets, I begin my lecture. It still seems a bit unusual to me not to hear the turning of textbook pages, but the quick and easy access to articles and a wide array of supplementary information that can be obtained on the internet just by the click of the mouse on a hyperlink has, in my opinion, made education much more thorough and efficient. The only downside to this contemporary form of instruction, I’ve discovered, is making sure the students are looking at the correct web pages and not sending messages on Facebook or Twitter. As a result of this modern method of teaching, I find myself walking up and down the rows of students in each of my classes more often than I would do if I could see open textbooks sitting on their desks. The first half of the class is spent making sure everyone had emailed me the papers I had assigned to the class concerning fusion power plants and discussing our next chapter on conceptual reactor configurations. Halfway through the class, I decide it’s time to discuss this morning’s news and how it applies to nuclear science. To begin our discussion, I start by asking, “Can anyone explain to the rest of the class this morning what an EMP is?” Several students look like they are searching their personal memory bank. Some of students look totally confused, and fewer still raise their hands. One of the students near the front of the classroom, Noah Joyner, appears more anxious than the other students to answer my question. Noah is your typical tall, dark and handsome type of guy I assume all the girls would say. He does have a very pleasant and outgoing personality. For the past two years, he has taken several of my classes and has made good grades. While not always your perfect A type of student, he has never made less than a B in any of my classes. He seems to be in a good mood all of the time, and he certainly isn’t shy. Noah participates in every classroom discussion and seems to like attention. I suspect that in high school Noah may have been the sort of student his former classmates would remember as the person they had voted on every year as their class clown. I decide to call on him. “Can you give us the answer, Noah?” “Yes, Dr. Knight. An EMP is an electromagnetic pulse, which is a burst of energy, and they are characterized both by their type of energy and their range.” “Thank you, Noah. You’re exactly right. An EMP arises from a pulse of energy. So, can anyone give me an example of a type of EMP? Jessica?” Jessica Phelps would never be considered as your typical nuclear physics student. She seems more suited to cheerleading and the world of beauty pageants, but she is one of my better students. All of her assignments are turned in on time, if not early, and, like Noah, she never fails to take an active part in our classroom debates. If my recollections are correct, she has made all A’s in my classes. She has never missed a class that I can recall, and she is looking forward to graduating in May. Jessica has been to my office throughout her college years to discuss her goals relating to getting a Master’s Degree and professions where she can pursue her interests in the field of nuclear science. She has also expressed an enthusiastic interest in obtaining her Ph.D. in nuclear engineering and has had many questions pertaining to the various universities where she should consider applying. In response to my question, with a puzzled expression on her face as if she isn’t quite sure her thoughts are correct, she asks, “Would lighting be one example of an EMP?” “Yes, Jessica, lighting is an example of an electromagnetic pulse. With lightning, it generally starts with low energy before it builds up to the main pulse, and a spark plug in a car can produce a type of EMP. A power line surge is one more example. And, you might be surprised to learn, a nuclear explosion is also classified as an electromagnetic pulse. Now, does anyone have any idea why we might be discussing an EMP this morning?” Seeing that no one is ready to respond, I continue. “A solar flare is also an electromagnetic pulse. While listening to this morning’s news, I learned that earth may experience a one within the next few hours or days. It can take nearly an entire day, or even as long as two to three days, for an electromagnetic pulse to have an impact on earth.” As I walk to my computer, I tell the class, “I’m sending a hyperlink to each of you for a news article discussing the EMP that may hit earth, along with a couple more hyperlinks about past electromagnetic pulses. I want each of you to take just a couple of minutes to look over these articles, and then we will continue this discussion.” The students quickly turn their attention to their computers and are clicking the links. I am pleased that my suspicions from this morning are proving to be true. There is a quiet excitement in the classroom as they quickly read over the articles. Finally, we are about to discuss something to which they can relate as possibly happening today and occurring in real time. “Who can tell me the name of the person who discovered an EMP, or solar flare,” I ask the students. From that point, we have a lengthy discussion about Mr. Carrington and the connection between solar flares and sunspot activity. We also discuss a picture of a solar flare that had been taken on December 5, 2006, by an X-ray imager that had been attached to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite. The solar flare was so bright and intense that the imaging equipment on board the NOAA satellite that took the photograph was actually damaged. This is yet one more testament to the magnificent power associated with any solar flare. As powerful as the solar flare was in 2006, researchers still believe the great Carrington event was brighter and even more intense. As a result of reading the facts in the articles, today a clearer understanding is being made by the students as to why the study of nuclear engineering was, is and will be in the future such an exciting field still waiting to be explored. “Is it true, Dr. Knight, that during the 1859 event, the EMP was so strong that even after the telegraph operators had disconnected the batteries powering their equipment, there was still enough electrical current in the air to continue transmitting messages,” Jessica asks as though she is incredulously skeptical and couldn’t possibly believe this to be true. “Yes, Jessica, that is true. Did anyone read far enough into the article where it discussed that the electromagnetic pulse actually set the telegraph paper on fire?” A murmur goes around the room, and the students continue to read through the internet articles as their young minds absorb the multifaceted information like sponges absorbing water. Teaching a senior level class like this with the complex and technical discussions we have brings its own level of reward. “What Mr. Carrington saw in 1859 was actually an explosion on the sun, a magnetic explosion. So, when would you think there would be a solar flare,” I ask. Aaron Hunt, a shy student, who more often than not I end up encouraging him to participate in class, speaks up. “The article says that solar flares would happen during a period of heavy sunspot activity on the surface of the sun. If a solar flare is expected now or in the next few days, then that would have to mean there has been a lot of activity on the sun’s surface in the past few days or weeks, wouldn’t it?” “Yes, Aaron, that’s correct. Solar flares and sunspot activity actually occur over a period of ten to twelve years and are referred to as cycles of the sun. Research shows that the Carrington event was the biggest EMP in the past one hundred sixty years, if not the past five hundred years, and according to research, it was twice the size of the second largest event in that same timeframe. Now, let’s discuss in more depth the article pertaining to the sun’s current cycle. Can anyone tell me when the current cycle began and when it is expected to end?” Sitting between Noah and Jessica is Rick Watson, a tall, muscular student attending college on a basketball scholarship. As a rising basketball star, he is extremely popular among all the students here at PCC. Rick, a senior, will graduate in the spring and is a unique individual. He is an outstanding college student who has managed to succeed in both scholastics and athletics, and he is on the Dean’s List almost every semester, even during the hectic basketball seasons. Each assignment he submits is well researched, and his intelligence is evident in his writing style. I expect he will succeed in whatever career he chooses. He replies to my question saying, “The articles indicate that the current cycle of the sun began five years ago, and the cycle is expected to end in seven more years.” “Thank you, Rick. Can you also tell us how EMPs are classified?” “There are three classifications. X is the largest. M is a medium EMP, and a Class C solar flare is the smallest.” “That is correct. As all of you hopefully read, on August 8th in 2011, there was a Class X sun storm creating the some of the largest of the solar flares ever observed, but those magnetic explosions occurred on the side of the sun not facing earth at the time. That’s why those particular EMPs did not reach earth or have any effect on our lives or current technology.” The conversation is now continuing into how a massive EMP could affect today’s society and modern machinery. With our ever-increasing dependence on technology, the students are amazed about how much greater a disaster would be today should earth be struck by a massive EMP than the disruptions made by the solar flare discovered by Mr. Carrington. Discussing medical facilities and the dangers it imposes, debating threats to the airline industry, and any potential damage to the numerous satellites orbiting earth, everyone begins enthusiastically talking about NASA and EMP studies being conducted around the globe. In my mind, I am thinking that this is how the study of nuclear engineering should be. Seeing an actual interest in the eyes of my students is very fulfilling, as it would be for any professor. As an afterthought to today’s class, I think to myself that now is as good a time as any to continue this discussion into the EMP phenomena. “Before our next class on Monday, I want each of you to write a one-page, single-spaced exposition on solar flares, and send your reports to me via email. You can each determine what area of EMP research interests you most and in your report, include an explanation as to why the area you chose drew your attention. Also, try to follow the news over the next few days about the sun’s current cycle of sunspot activity, and we will briefly continue this discussion in our next class.” Just before class ends and as the students are preparing to close their laptops, the lights in the classroom begin to flash off and on before all the computers go offline.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 21:34:51 +0000