What is a magnetogram used for?
A magnetogram is not a “picture” of the Sun which you might see with your eyes. Rather, it’s an image taken by an instrument which can detect the strength and location of the magnetic fields on the Sun.
How does a magnetograph work?
The magnetograph works by measuring the polarization of light at various wavelength positions within a solar spectral line. Linear polarization provides information on the strength and direction of the magnetic field transverse to the line of sight.
How long does the sun live?
Stars like our Sun burn for about nine or 10 billion years. So our Sun is about halfway through its life. But don’t worry. It still has about 5,000,000,000—five billion—years to go.
How do vector magnetometers work?
These sensors use properties of electrical current that are affected by the presence of a magnetic field that does not run parallel to the direction of the current. Hall Effect sensors also produce a voltage that is proportional to the strength of the magnetic field, making them both vector and scalar magnetometers.
How do phone magnetometers work?
One of the methods used by magnetometers relies on what is known as the Hall effect. Thus a magnetometer assesses the way the current is distorted or angled due to the magnetic field, and the voltage at which this occurs is the Hall voltage, which is proportional to the magnetic field.
How much longer will Earth last?
By that point, all life on Earth will be extinct. The most probable fate of the planet is absorption by the Sun in about 7.5 billion years, after the star has entered the red giant phase and expanded beyond the planet’s current orbit.
Can a magnetometer find gold?
Magnetometers are used to find disseminated gold by its association with mineralized zones which also contain magnetite or other magnetic minerals. Where there is gold there is often magnetite and therefore the magnetometer can be used to locate placer gold deposits.
Are magnetometers accurate?
Because the precession frequency depends only on atomic constants and the strength of the ambient magnetic field, the accuracy of this type of magnetometer can reach 1 ppm.
What can magnetometers detect?
Magnetometers can be used as metal detectors: they can detect only magnetic (ferrous) metals, but can detect such metals at a much larger depth than conventional metal detectors; they are capable of detecting large objects, such as cars, at tens of metres, while a metal detector’s range is rarely more than 2 metres.
What if the sun turned into a black hole?
What if the Sun turned into a black hole? The Sun will never turn into a black hole because it is not massive enough to explode. Instead, the Sun will become a dense stellar remnant called a white dwarf.