So much for financial goal planning, the right asset allocation, risk management, market timing and dreams of early retirement. Everything, everything will be lost if the event described below were to occur. Not just all our money, but our very existence! I can assure you that this is a real possibility, this is a well known, well-studied problem and there is probably no solution for it.
Everything that follows is true and scary. Knowing about it will give some perspective of how fragile our existence is and how it is just sheer dumb luck. Ever since I learnt about it in a Nat Geo documentary, I have been deeply troubled by it. You might remember Brad Pitt’s character in the Big Short save seeds as a hedge from economic disaster. Well, this is one such instance, although I am not sure if those are enough.
Remember those “end of the world” predictions? Those would seem timid compared to this. If we die, or if all of us were to die because a comet hit the Earth, at least our misery would be over! If the sun sneezes hard in our direction, we may not die, but the internet will die, power will die, telecommunications will die, all our net worth will be gone, there will no access to food or water. It will be just like how the movies show it.
Yes, I am referring to the sun, that star we revolve around. Every now and then the sun sneezes – gives out a solar flare. The following was recorded on June 7th 2011.
A solar flare is a burst of energy streaming out from the sun. Sometimes these are accompanied by the ejection of huge amounts of particles (matter) and electromagnetic radiation. In July 2012. there was one such extreme solar storm that narrowly missed us by nine days! The probability of such an event affecting Earth is a good 12%!!
Get free money management solutions delivered to your mailbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!
🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our robo-advisory tool & courses! 🔥
If it had hit, the radiation (which will arrive much later after the actual event) will cause massive power breakdowns. All internet installations will be down. This is essentially a Solar EMP – electromagnetic pulse. You have heard about it in the movies (Matix series for example) or read about it after Pokhran. Now that is not the scary part.
The scary part is that it will take years, yes years to recover all such facilities. In the meantime, the money in banks, mutual funds, stocks everything electronic is essentially zero.
There will be no running water. No food available in shops because all telecommunications will be dead. It will cost each country billions of dollars to repair installations. How will they pay? Most money is digital anyway. There is no power to print more money. The gold reserves will not last long.
Even if the workers can be compensated, how will they work without food and water?! There will be chaos, looting and murder. Life, as we know, will cease to exist, almost immediately.
Do you think I am making this up? Exaggerating it? I wish you were right, but sadly no. We came close in July 2012 but on 1st Sep 1859 (less than two months after the Sepoy Mutiny was officially declared as over), the biggest solar storm ever recorded was observed and it hit Earth destroying telegraph systems all over North Americ and Europe. You can read more about all the interesting events that occurred as a result here: The Carrington Event. The telegraph network was only down for a few days and it did not disrupt life at all. Today even a single day without the internet can cause chaos.
Solar storms of lesser magnitudes knocked out power stations and radio communication in 1920, 1969 and 1989. It is simply a matter of time! If you have a HotStar subscription do watch the NatGeo documentary “Mission to the Sun”. A bootleg copy is available on Youtube
https://youtu.be/z_TzkRhAzBA
Is there any hope?
The only way to handle this problem, as mentioned in the documentary, is to power down all electrical systems, well before the actual solar flare and wait for a few days until all the EM radiation dies outs.
This is the main goal of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) created by NASA. The only silver lining is that there will be a 20-24 hours window between the extreme solar event and destruction of all power-dependent systems on Earth. I think a warning is possible today but it may several hours to sink in and propagate making it too late for some portions of the globe. Thus the warning has to be well in advance.
For this scientists need data and hence the Parker Solar probe (see video) was launched in 2018. It will still take a little more than six years for it to reach the sun (if successful). So a there is hope, but it is hanging by a thread and is a few years away.
Let us pray that the probe is successful and scientists can prefer the early warning system. Else our existence, our goals, our money is all riding on luck.
🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our courses and robo-advisory tool! 🔥
Use our Robo-advisory Excel Tool for a start-to-finish financial plan! ⇐ More than 1000 investors and advisors use this!
New Tool! => Track your mutual funds and stocks investments with this Google Sheet!
- Follow us on Google News.
- Do you have a comment about the above article? Reach out to us on Twitter: @freefincal or @pattufreefincal
- Join our YouTube Community and explore more than 1000 videos!
- Have a question? Subscribe to our newsletter with this form.
- Hit 'reply' to any email from us! We do not offer personalized investment advice. We can write a detailed article without mentioning your name if you have a generic question.
Get free money management solutions delivered to your mailbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!
Explore the site! Search among our 2000+ articles for information and insight!
About The Author
Dr M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over nine years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter or Linkedin, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation promoting unbiased, commission-free investment advice.Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! ⇐ More than 3000 investors and advisors are part of our exclusive community! Get clarity on how to plan for your goals and achieve the necessary corpus no matter what the market condition is!! Watch the first lecture for free! One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos! Reduce fear, uncertainty and doubt while investing! Learn how to plan for your goals before and after retirement with confidence.
Our new course! Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills! ⇐ More than 700 salaried employees, entrepreneurs and financial advisors are part of our exclusive community! Learn how to get people to pay for your skills! Whether you are a professional or small business owner who wants more clients via online visibility or a salaried person wanting a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts you and pays you! (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos!
Our new book for kids: “Chinchu gets a superpower!” is now available!
Must-read book even for adults! This is something that every parent should teach their kids right from their young age. The importance of money management and decision making based on their wants and needs. Very nicely written in simple terms. - Arun.Buy the book: Chinchu gets a superpower for your child!
How to profit from content writing: Our new ebook for those interested in getting side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only!
Want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (it will work with any index!), or you buy the new Tactical Buy/Sell timing tool!
We publish monthly mutual fund screeners and momentum, low volatility stock screeners.
About freefincal & its content policy Freefincal is a News Media Organization dedicated to providing original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on mutual funds, stocks, investing, retirement and personal finance developments. We do so without conflict of interest and bias. Follow us on Google News. Freefincal serves more than three million readers a year (5 million page views) with articles based only on factual information and detailed analysis by its authors. All statements made will be verified from credible and knowledgeable sources before publication. Freefincal does not publish any paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions without data. All opinions presented will only be inferences backed by verifiable, reproducible evidence/data. Contact information: letters {at} freefincal {dot} com (sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained)
Connect with us on social media
- Twitter @freefincal
- Subscribe to our Youtube Videos
- Posts feed via Feedburner.
Our publications
You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing
Published by CNBC TV18, this book is meant to help you ask the right questions and seek the correct answers, and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now.Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You Want
This book is meant for young earners to get their basics right from day one! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.Your Ultimate Guide to Travel
This is an in-depth dive analysis into vacation planning, finding cheap flights, budget accommodation, what to do when travelling, and how travelling slowly is better financially and psychologically with links to the web pages and hand-holding at every step. Get the pdf for Rs 300 (instant download)