Apocalypse How/Class 1: Difference between revisions
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== [[Literature]] ==
* The [[Ur Example]] is the various Great Flood myths that appear in various cultures. Western tropers are probably most familiar with the Judeo-Christian version in the [[The Bible|Book of Genesis]], but ''[[The Epic of Gilgamesh]]'' was earlier, making this [[Older Than Dirt]].
* ''[[
** It's also speculated, though never established, that countries south of the equator would escape the impact and the worst of the weather changes. If that's true, Australia, South Africa and most of South America could probably maintain social order.
* David Brin's ''[[The Postman]]'' (1985), which features a drifter who finds a postal uniform, and starts a postal network in an effort to stay fed, and ends by reuniting the northwest USA. Better known as the [[Film of the Book]] starring Kevin Costner.
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* A strong enough solar flare could render most electronics (especially ones with computer chips) severely damaged and useless, which would knock humans back to the 1930s in terms of technology. However, it is temporary, so after the turmoil (caused by removing essential technology like radios, the computers in plane cockpits and the machines hooked up to hospital patients), we would be able to replace it eventually.
** The night side during the flare would probably have electronics more or less okay, so even if one were to hit Earth (itself a very slim prospect but likely a reality some point in the future), there's a decent chance the bulk of the damage would be over the Pacific or Atlantic oceans. However such an event would damage satellites completely, and in the worst case scenarios, human progress would be stalled out for a few decades while infrastructure and industry recovered. Deaths would probably be limited to medical patients and people in situations requiring electronics at the time though.
*** And the however many thousands of people in the airplanes which use electronics in the navigation equipment and more importantly to run the engines. No electronics, bye bye engine; no engine, bye bye thrust; no thrust, bye bye forward speed;{{verify|reason=Did inertia magically go away when the electronics were fried?}} no forward speed, bye bye lift; no lift ... oh no... we're gonna die. Most planes built during the last 15 years can't function without computers. If the computers are fried you either replace them or turn the aircraft into Coke cans.
*** While most air passengers would likely die, modern commercial airliners are equipped with backups (most notably Auxiliary Power Units and Ram Air Turbines) that can provide some power and control in the event of engine failure and power loss. Depending on their positioning, it's quite possible that a percentage of planes would be able to ditch or land in relative safety. But yeah, it probably wouldn't work out well for most people in the air when the event happened.
** More ominously however, most people in today's Western society have no access to clean water or food without electronics, which in a worst case scenario could bump this up to a Class 2.
* According to a theory based on genetics, a [[wikipedia:Toba catastrophe theory#Genetic bottleneck theory|volcanic eruption]] 70,000 years ago reduced the human race to between 1000 and 10,000 breeding pairs. If this is true, then it's the closest we've had to a worldwide class 1.
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