- There has been considerable chatter on the web about
new global climate change. We have heard alarm bells sound as
a result of recent strange weather. My theory may show that the recent
alarmist attitude about a lull in solar activity for another century or
two may be a bit too premature. Note that this does not mean I embrace
the global warming theory. That is not our topic here.
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- Before presenting the concept addressed in this short
essay, first we should look at the basic function of two different
waves. Waves interact with other waves resulting in complex patterns. One
way to understand this is to imagine making slow waves by hand in a pool
of water. If you time your hand motions right you can cause small waves
to increase in size (adding to each other) with each motion. They can continue
to build with each motion. And if you time it wrong in the slightest manner,
you can cause two waves to collide and almost cancel each other out. This
will result in a standing wave, which will peak then disappear. Tesla based
much of his work and devices over his lifetime on these simple principles.
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- Basic principles can apply to various types of wave patterns.
The frequency of a eave can be anything from a fraction of a cycle per
second such as waves made in water, to the highest frequencies you can
imagine in the electromagnetic spectrum such as microwave. When installing
CB radios in cars and trucks an SWR meter is used which measures the Standing
Wave Ratio. This minimizes the reflection of the transmitted and received
radio energy. When the antenna is tuned properly, the ideal standing wave
ratio measures close to 1:1. It is the same principle as that of waves
in a swimming pool, but takes place at a higher frequency. Fiber-optic
devices operating at several hundred Terahertz have used the principle
of standing waves to switch light signals.
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- Let's look at the sun which appears to have two different
frequency patterns:
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- 1. The eleven year solar cycle, which equals 132 months
- 2. The solar heartbeat which cycles approximately every
16 months
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- The eleven year solar cycle discovery dates back to the
early part of the last century. This cycle peaks solar activity such as
flares, sunspots etc These peaks and valleys in activity take place approximately
every 5.5 years. As of February 2008, the current eleven year cycle is
about half-way through. The current eleven year cycle is expected to peak
about 2012. There are those who are alarmed about this, because solar activity
is usually higher at this point in the eleven year cycle. (Yes, I know
about the infamous 2012 so do not write me about it.)
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- Another newer discovery is known as the solar heartbeat.
[1]This concept dates back to the year 2000 according to the US National
Science Foundation. This heartbeat appears to have a 16 month cycle, or
frequency. If we divide this period by 2, we see that approximately every
8 months the sunspots, flares etc will peak from the heartbeat, and 8 months
later it will be at the lowest point of activity. This is the solar heartbeat
concept, and considering the mass of the sun a 16 month "wave cycle"
certainly isn't unreasonable.
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- With all that said, let's consider what can happen when
these two very different solar cycles, or frequencies collide. The eleven
year cycle requires 132 months for a complete cycle, as opposed to 16 months
for the heartbeat. This represents a ratio of 8.25:1. Expressed another
way, the heartbeat is 8.25 times faster than the eleven year cycle. Simultaneously,
every 66 months there will be a lull and a peak in solar activity from
the eleven year cycle.
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- So what could all this mean? Reduced to simple terms,
these two frequency patterns may or may not be synchronized to each other.
Our star is a chaotic system which is not well understood. This could indicate
that a low point in the current eleven year solar activity, might "add"
to a low point in the heartbeat cycle as I described earlier with basic
wave functions. Perhaps the end product of these two wave cycles results
in the extremely low solar activity we see which is taking place as of
this writing.
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- On the brighter side (no pun intended,) the current low
point in solar activity doesn't necessarily mean a new ice age is upon
us. Instead, we may be experiencing only a short- term lull in solar activity.
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- Time will tell
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- Ted Twietmeyer
- tedtw@frontiernet.net
- (Yes, I know about the infamous year 2012 so do not write
me about it AGAIN!)
- www.data4science.net
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- [1] - http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/press/00/pr0015.htm
- [2] Solar heartbeat movie - <http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/press/images/kt3.mpg
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