Sun to trash Sat Nav as well as not effect on climate..
Discussion
This found on the New Scientist email reminder thingy.
We are all doomed! There will be 747's and errant Cruise Missiles falling out of the sky all around us but all of this solar activity has nothing to do with climate stuff, at all, not possibly, ever.
Worst of all many Brits, newly reliant on GPS technology to get anywhere, the teaching of geography having been all but eliminated from schools, will become hopelessly lost trying to find the pub at the end of their street.
What fun we will all have!
Stormy times for GPS
Solar flares can drown out GPS signals with potentially serious consequences for airlines, emergency services, and anyone relying on satellite navigation.
It turns out these bursts of charged particles, which produce auroras and geomagnetic storms, also generate radio waves in the 1.2 and 1.6-gigahertz bands used by GPS.
How was such a clash missed? Because GPS receivers only became common during a period of low solar activity. By 2011 solar flares will reach the peak of their cycle and receivers will likely fail. Or so Alessandro Cerruti of Cornell University, New York, told a meeting of the Institute of Navigation in Fort Worth, Texas, last week. The only solution would be to redesign GPS receivers or satellites, which may not be practical, says Cerruti.
We are all doomed! There will be 747's and errant Cruise Missiles falling out of the sky all around us but all of this solar activity has nothing to do with climate stuff, at all, not possibly, ever.
Worst of all many Brits, newly reliant on GPS technology to get anywhere, the teaching of geography having been all but eliminated from schools, will become hopelessly lost trying to find the pub at the end of their street.
What fun we will all have!
Stormy times for GPS
Solar flares can drown out GPS signals with potentially serious consequences for airlines, emergency services, and anyone relying on satellite navigation.
It turns out these bursts of charged particles, which produce auroras and geomagnetic storms, also generate radio waves in the 1.2 and 1.6-gigahertz bands used by GPS.
How was such a clash missed? Because GPS receivers only became common during a period of low solar activity. By 2011 solar flares will reach the peak of their cycle and receivers will likely fail. Or so Alessandro Cerruti of Cornell University, New York, told a meeting of the Institute of Navigation in Fort Worth, Texas, last week. The only solution would be to redesign GPS receivers or satellites, which may not be practical, says Cerruti.
..... er thats why I always have a map in the car with me and thats why we are getting Galileo:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transp
GPS is still US controlled and they could still turn it off if they want (not that they would of course). GPS was never designed to be what it is today (like all of the best systems we use today). So the next generation will be with us soon enough.....
Actually, I have just read the original post again, and what a load of rubbish. My BiL is a pilot (and I know there are a few here on PH). Trust me, they can all navigate without the use of GPS. In fact, to get a pilots license you need to demonstrate a hell of a lot of navigation abilities WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY. To get a commercial airline license you need to prove even more - and as a result they can all get from one place to another without the use of GPS. They have air corridor maps, pre-arranged routes and times and hey presto - you get to your destination.
As for cars and things - since when did someone pass a law which allowed our cars to drive themselves via GPS? Anyway, my PDA satnav thing is Windows based and as a result I do not place too much trust in it. It can crash, break or fail. Does that stop me from getting in my car and driving? Nah, hardly. Considering that 70% of the population manage to function without GPS then one has to ask the question - what the hell is this scientist on?
Unless of course he is working on a solution to protect against "solar flares"..... then its mere self-promotion..... at its lowest form.... git....
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transp
GPS is still US controlled and they could still turn it off if they want (not that they would of course). GPS was never designed to be what it is today (like all of the best systems we use today). So the next generation will be with us soon enough.....
Actually, I have just read the original post again, and what a load of rubbish. My BiL is a pilot (and I know there are a few here on PH). Trust me, they can all navigate without the use of GPS. In fact, to get a pilots license you need to demonstrate a hell of a lot of navigation abilities WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY. To get a commercial airline license you need to prove even more - and as a result they can all get from one place to another without the use of GPS. They have air corridor maps, pre-arranged routes and times and hey presto - you get to your destination.
As for cars and things - since when did someone pass a law which allowed our cars to drive themselves via GPS? Anyway, my PDA satnav thing is Windows based and as a result I do not place too much trust in it. It can crash, break or fail. Does that stop me from getting in my car and driving? Nah, hardly. Considering that 70% of the population manage to function without GPS then one has to ask the question - what the hell is this scientist on?
Unless of course he is working on a solution to protect against "solar flares"..... then its mere self-promotion..... at its lowest form.... git....
Edited by off_again on Saturday 14th October 11:15
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