B Protecting Your Computer from Solar Storms - Is a Faraday Cage Enough?

AI Thread Summary
A strong solar storm can cause irreparable damage to electronic equipment, raising concerns about the effectiveness of Faraday cages in protecting computers. While Faraday cages can block some electromagnetic interference, their ability to shield against extremely strong transmissions is limited, depending on factors like mesh spacing. Additionally, if a solar storm leads to a prolonged power outage, the functionality of computers would be rendered moot. Effective protection also requires filtering and transient suppression devices on cables connected to equipment, as external connections can compromise the shielded environment. Overall, the discussion highlights the potential severity of solar storms and the limitations of current protective measures.
Icositetraedro
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From what I understand in scientific publications, if there is a strong solar storm directed towards the Earth, the effects would be such that any electronic equipment would suffer irreparable damage. I ask, if I put my computer inside a Faraday cage would it also be damaged?
 
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While Faraday cages can block some level of transmission, it’s always possible that an incredibly strong transmission can reach the gear inside the cage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage

Notice that what the cage can block is dependent on the mesh spacing and the wavelength of the transmission ie slow changing transmissions ie large wavelength can get through.
 
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What for? Our power supplies will be down for years if the storm is heavy enough. They estimate that it will take up to ten years to replace all the insulators in transformation facilities.
 
Couple that solar storm report with the UN report on climate last week plus new COVID variants more deadly than Delta, plus all the volcanoes and earthquakes, and I guess the end of the world is nigh.

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@fresh_42 is right. If the world has no electricity, there's not much use for computers.
 
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Icositetraedro said:
I ask, if I put my computer inside a Faraday cage would it also be damaged?

In addition to using a shielded room to protect equipment from the strong ElectroMagnetic Interference (EMI), you need to put filters and transient suppression devices on the cables that connect the equipment inside the room to power and data cables outside of the room. It does little good to use a shielded room if the cables are not filtered and protected too.

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https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/19537459/series-81-71-shielding-systems-ets-lindgren
 
anorlunda said:
Couple that solar storm report with the UN report on climate last week plus new COVID variants more deadly than Delta, plus all the volcanoes and earthquakes, and I guess the end of the world is nigh.

View attachment 287727

@fresh_42 is right. If the world has no electricity, there's not much use for computers.
They make good conversation pieces, door stops and coasters.
 
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