September 29, 2006

Solar Flares Could Disable Mobile Phones

Magnetosphere_rendition.jpg Along the lines of the sky falling on our heads, here's something new to worry about. According to Cellular News, solar flares could disable mobile phones.

"Solar flares could knock out GPS enabled mobile phones, reports researchers at Cornell University. Because solar flares -- larger-than-normal radiation "burps" by the sun -- are generally unpredictable, such failures could be devastating for "safety-of-life" GPS operations -- such as navigating passenger jets, stabilizing floating oil rigs and locating mobile phone distress calls."

According to this page dated 2000 on NASA website, solar flares are on the rise, occuring several times a week.

emily | 9:43 AM | News, Buzz | Add this this entry to your del.icio.us bookmarks. Digg This Technorati search results for this Entry
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