5 minutes

The collapse of digital civilization

Muhammad Salem Al Ali

August 04, 2022

I was caught by news recently, about a solar storm that hit the Earth, and led to slight fluctuations in power networks and the functions of satellites, including mobile phones and GPS systems;

However, it was weak and limited in impact, as it had no repercussions, nor consequences, nor consequences.

As soon as I finished reading, I started looking for the solar wind as huge streams of charged particles (plasma) that make their way towards the Earth, and turn when they hit the magnetic field into a barrage of geomagnetic storms that vary in intensity according to the solar cycle and their coronal flares.

I learned that it is not a new thing, but rather a recurring phenomenon that people have observed for hundreds of years, whether by observing the aurora borealis or by following the numbers of sunspots;

However, what preoccupied the mind and still is the damage that it could cause if its flows intensified and magnified, especially after I read about the “Carrington event” in 1859, which is considered the largest solar storm observed during contemporary history, and which led to the suspension of systems The telegraph all over the world, while the northern lights shimmered up to the tropical shows!

Imagine, then, what it would be like if the predictions of the US space agency (NASA) were to be believed about a 12% chance of a Carrington-like event within the next ten years;

Rather, let us go further and imagine a stronger and more intense event, a solar storm that will disrupt the magnetic field of our planet and stop the work of all devices and equipment, including satellites, aircraft, all vehicles, as well as communication networks, electricity, and the always praised digitization and artificial intelligence.

Of course, I have some humor in that. Social communication will continue, but by different means, such as quotes and smoke signals;

The correspondence will also remain except through the carrier pigeon and the cries of call and hissing;

And the travels, in turn, will not be affected much with the presence of chariots and travelers;

As for the Internet, it will inevitably be replaced by stories, epics, and grandmothers' tales.

Returning to reality, I see that the matter is very complicated, as solar activity in general is still being researched and studied, and we are still far from predicting it and predicting its flares. which limits our ability to take any measures;

Perhaps the greatest concern here is not the loss of our current way of life, but rather the accumulated human knowledge that brought us to where we are;

This knowledge that we hold today in the form of digital data is stored here and there, and is subject to disappearance or damage in the blink of an eye and without any warning.

Fortunately, some have already begun to pay attention to this matter. Perhaps you have heard about the project to keep backup copies of human knowledge in space, or about the Lunar Library made of nickel metal disks, which carries high-resolution microscopic images of various pages of books and literature;

However, the most important are the promising techniques for storing DNA, these technologies that require all efforts and attention from us, especially that one gram of DNA can store the equivalent of 215 million gigabytes of data, and it is durable and survivability in terms of many of its healthy samples that They have been found in fossils, which will in the future be the perfect material for storage, and from which all hope and reassurance may come.

Founder of "Suhail Smart Solutions" 

To read the previous articles of the writer please click on its name.