Showing posts with label magnetic field. Show all posts
Showing posts with label magnetic field. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Star Trek: The Physics of Solar Flares

Star Trek the Next Generation (1987-1994) (Picture)
Season 1, Episode 21
Symbiosis

When the Enterprise comes the the aid of a small freighter, the crew discovers two cultures that have come to be dependent on one another for survival. Solar flares from the nearby sun make it difficult to rescue these people from their freighter, because the flares are interfering with the electronic equipment on the Enterprise. What are solar flares, and can they really be powerful enough to interfere with the Enterprise's electronics?