Did a solar flare cause tunguska?

In summary, the Tunguska event in Russia in 1908 was most likely caused by a meteoroid exploding before impact, rather than a solar flare. Some people have suggested that a ball of gas or quarks could have caused the destruction, but this is not scientifically supported. The origins of these theories may stem from misinformation and a lack of understanding of real science.
  • #1
battery
48
0
Did a solar flare cause tunguska and devestate a huge area of forest in Russia?
 
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  • #3
Why do you think a solar flare could be responsible? How could one bring about what happened?
 
  • #4
matthyaouw said:
Why do you think a solar flare could be responsible? How could one bring about what happened?


Watching quasi-scientific "documentaries" on cable-TV causes solar flares to impact the earth. With devasting explosive power.

Seriously, Matt - where do you think most of these non-standard ideas come from? It is not from reading Scientific American. It is from people who want to know about things, but do not know where to look, so they turn to tabloid TV. Or whatever is the local equivalent. And they are not science trained at all so they cannot tell hokum from real science.
 
  • #5
I asked because if gas is ejected from the sun I thought it might cool on its way to earth
(and be held together as a ball by electric charges in the form of ions) and then heat up similar to a meteor as it fell through the Earth's atmosphere.
 
  • #6
battery said:
... if gas is ejected from the sun I thought it might cool on its way to Earth and be held together as a ball by electric charges in the form of ions and then heat up similar to a meteor as it fell through the Earth's atmosphere...
Um.. No. I don't think that would be possible.
 
  • #7
g33kski11z said:
Um.. No. I don't think that would be possible.

Some people say they have seen ball lightning on the Earth which is not supposed to be possible.I think the question is: is it possible to heat a ball of gas with a weak gravitational filed - a small mass -to a very high temperature and for that ball to be stable over a long period of time.The answer could be yes if either:

(a) the ball is essentially electromagnetic in nature and made of regions of high negative charge density separated and insulated ( insulated so charges don't come together quickly and form neutral atoms or molecules )from regions of high positive charge density.

(b) the ball is made of quarks held together by the strong force

Option (a) is most likely because it would require less energy input and there is some anecdotal evidence from witnesses around the world for ball lightning and also there is the phenomenon ( on a small scale of about 10^-6 metres ) of sonoluminescence in which the concentration of sound energy can cause a very high temperature bubble to form -
perhaps thunder causes ball lightning to form similarly on a larger scale.
 
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  • #8
battery said:
Some people say they have seen ball lightning on the Earth which is not supposed to be possible.I think the question is: is it possible to heat a ball of gas with a weak gravitational filed - a small mass -to a very high temperature and for that ball to be stable over a long period of time.The answer could be yes if either:

(a) the ball is essentially electromagnetic in nature and made of regions of high negative charge density separated and insulated ( insulated so charges don't come together quickly and form neutral atoms or molecules )from regions of high positive charge density.

(b) the ball is made of quarks held together by the strong force

QUOTE]

A ball of quarks would be potentially very energetic and explosive if the quarks became pions on hitting the Earth's atmosphere, and the pions then decayed into photons ( a well established decay mode for pions).
 
  • #9
First, how would this solar falre after cooling down contract into a ball? Second, how large and dense would a giant ball of charged particles have to be to create the frictional energy to cause the destruction of Tunguska?

I'd say that a contracting solar flare is likely to not happen and if it could the giant ball would need to have roughly the same mass and density of a meteor to cause the destruction.
 
  • #10

1. Did a solar flare cause the Tunguska event?

There is no scientific evidence to support the theory that a solar flare caused the Tunguska event. Solar flares are bursts of energy that occur on the surface of the sun and can affect Earth's magnetic field, but they are not known to cause such large-scale explosions on the planet's surface.

2. Is there any connection between solar flares and the Tunguska explosion?

Some scientists have proposed a connection between the Tunguska explosion and a solar flare, but this theory has not been widely accepted. The timing of the Tunguska event and a solar flare in 1908 is purely coincidental, and there is no concrete evidence to support a direct link between the two events.

3. Can a solar flare cause damage on Earth similar to the Tunguska event?

No, a solar flare is not capable of causing the same level of destruction as the Tunguska explosion. Solar flares can potentially disrupt satellite and communication systems, but they do not have the energy or impact to cause explosions on Earth's surface.

4. How do scientists explain the Tunguska event if it was not caused by a solar flare?

The most widely accepted explanation for the Tunguska event is that it was caused by the impact of a large meteor or comet. This theory is supported by physical evidence, such as the presence of impact craters and debris, as well as eyewitness accounts of a bright object in the sky before the explosion.

5. Are there any ongoing studies or research on the potential link between solar flares and the Tunguska event?

While some scientists continue to explore the possibility of a connection between solar flares and the Tunguska event, the majority of research has focused on other explanations, such as meteor impacts. There is currently no significant ongoing research on this topic, as most evidence points towards a meteor or comet as the cause of the Tunguska explosion.

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