Re: Dies the Magnet

Mike Williams <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Wasn't it Jacey Bedford who wrote:
In message
<30b9f677-f2de-44cf-823c-bb051229d0e2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Mad Bad Rabbit <madbadrabbit@xxxxxxxxx> writes
According to a 1991 paper, "The Environmental impact of vacuum
decay" (abstract at: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1991AmJPh..59...25C
), it is possible that the electromagnetic force could spontaneously
break into separate short-range electric and magnetic forces.
According to the authors, this would not destroy the universe or blow
up the Sun or anything, but it would mean several bad things for
modern civilization:

1) Photon now has mass and moves slightly slower than c.
2) No more radio, microwaves, or other EM waves below a few hundred
GHz.
3) No magnetic or electric fields beyond 1 cm or so.

Assuming such a phase transaction occurred, though, what would happen
to the potential energy stored in electric and magnetic fields when
they vanished? Would it all be released as photons?


Err... A Question from a science numbskull:

Without its magnetic fields isn't the whole planet pretty well buggered
for various reasons of solar bombardment? Or am I completely arse about
face? Just recalling something I read recently, but I may have got it
wrong.

I think it might be a bit worse than that. Life might continue, but any
multicellular life form that relies on electric field effects for the
passing of nerve signals may well die. Our lungs wouldn't get messages
telling them to breathe. New multicellular creatures could evolve that
use entirely chemical nerve signals, which would be a bit slower.

On the plus side, if nerves stop working then nobody will have to watch
themselves or those around them suffocate to death.

--
Mike Ash
Radio Free Earth
Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon
.

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