VOA慢速英语2014 如何抵御太阳风暴发表

 

How to Weather a Solar Storm 如何抵御太阳风暴发表

Powerful winds from the sun affect the earth’s atmosphere. These solar winds cause the beautiful aurora¹ borealis, also known as the northern lights. These winds are also responsible for many of the power outages that affect modern electrical systems.

The sun’s energy creates light and heat. It also produces charged electrical particles and magnetic fields. The sun can keep the earth nice and warm and helps our crops to grow. But a sudden burst of that solar energy can cause a power outage. William Murtagh is with the National Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder², Colorado.

“As recently as 2003, a big geomagnetic storm during that period we call the Halloween Storms produced a blackout in Malmo, Sweden, the city of Malmo, Sweden and damaged transformers in the Escombe Network in South Africa.”

The National Space Weather Prediction Center is part of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric³ Administration. The Prediction Center provides continually up-to-date forecasts to power companies, government agencies, the satellite industry and airline companies. It even shares these reports with users of global positioning system equipment.

The normal solar forecast is hot, sunny and worry-free. But sometimes satellites near the sun observe huge orange geysers. These explosions can produce magnetized winds, which continue into space. A solar storm generally takes at least half a day to reach the earth. So at first, says William Murtagh, the Prediction Center describes the solar activity as a “watch.”

“So a geomagnetic storm watch is somewhat like a hurricane watch when there’s hurricane sitting off shore of Miami and it’s a couple of days out.”

In the final hour of its trip to earth, the storm passes a special satellite orbiting our planet. The satellite provides new clues about the power and size of the storm. Then scientists hurry to send the latest information.

“So we can give all the folks that we gave a heads-up to a day or two earlier, we can say okay, it’s worse than we expected, it’s as expected, or maybe it’s a bit of a dud and is not going to be the impact we thought it might have here on Earth.”

Most storms are uneventful, or a bit of a dud, as he said. For larger storms, electric companies can direct power away from sensitive equipment and intense geomagnetic activity. But short-term outages are still possible. That is why hospitals, airports and other emergency centers are urged to keep back-up power generating equipment.

But predictions might not help us through a super solar storm. William Murtagh describes what has been called the 1859 Carrington Event. It created Aurora lights that were seen all over the world. The storm affected⁴ telegraphs -- the main electrical device of the time.

“I mean, what does that translate to, in our critical infrastructure⁵, especially the power grid⁶? That’s what we’re trying to understand now.”

Researcher Scott McBride sends geomagnetic currents through high voltage transformers. During most storms, he says, technicians could study individual pieces of equipment to reduce the chance that they will be damaged. But if a Carrington-sized event hit today, it could affect a very large area.

During a big storm, he predicts, current loads would fluctuate – or rise and fall. He thinks that these fluctuating loads would destroy many transformers and that it would take a long time to replace them.

Scott McBride says engineers are developing a transformer that could replace damaged equipment in days, not months. And modern grounding systems can protect equipment. But these steps will cost time and money.

So what if the Space Weather Prediction Center found a strong likelihood of another Carrington Event? Mr. McBride says there is one more back-up plan.

“Turning the power grid off would certainly protect it from a geomagnetic disturbance⁷, but the socioeconomic impacts of de-energizing the power grid are so huge, it would be very difficult for somebody to actually make that decision.”

The experts say world leaders, power companies and major power users should start planning now so the world can weather a solar super storm.

Words in this Story 

atmosphere – n. the gases surrounding any star or planet

burst – n. an unexpected explosion; v. to break open suddenly

continually – adv. repeated in the same way

equipment – n. things, tools or machines needed for a purpose or activity

device – n. a piece of equipment made for a special purpose

1 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

2 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

3 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

7 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。