Can the sun cause power surges in overhead power-lines?
Yes, solar flares associated with Sun spots can send electromagnetic waves to Earth that can disrupt communications and send energy into the electrical grid. Regard the electrical grid as a massive antenna that can intercept energy that comes from the Sun. The greatest solar storm on record occurred in 1859, shorting out telegraph wires and starting fires in the United States and Europe. In early September in 1859, telegraph wires suddenly shorted out in the United States and Europe, igniting widespread fires. Colorful aurora, normally visible only in polar regions, were seen as far south as Rome and Hawaii. The event 144 years ago was three times more powerful than the strongest space storm in modern memory, one that cut power to an entire Canadian province in 1989.
solar flares Powerful Currents Within 20 minutes or less of a flare, the magnetic field of an active region changes into a simpler arrangement of energy. Meanwhile, gas has been heated to millions of degrees and a blast of X-rays leaves the scene of the event. In 9 minutes, the X-rays, traveling at 3 x 105 kilometers/second arrive at Earth, and cause short-wave blackouts across the entire daytime face of the planet. As the X-rays reach the daytime side of Earth, they cause major changes in the upper layers of the atmosphere, especially the ionosphere. The ionosphere is used in short-wave radio communications (which bounce transmitted signals off of its lower edge), and solar flare disturbances can disrupt radio communication for hours at a time. Any astronaut in space, or sensitive satellite electronics, can also be damaged by the extra intense x-rays from flares unless the proper precautions and shielding are used to reduce their risk.
The awesome power of the Sun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb9jTeFca… Activity on the surface of our Sun can have serious effects upon the transmission of electricity and can also interfere with TV and radio transmissions too.
