[tivert]

>> I've always been hearing that solar flares and the resulting geomagnetic storms pose danger to hard drives and electronics. Is there any truth to it?

> Bit flips from cosmic rays.

I don't think that's it. IIRC, if a geomagnetic storm/coronal mass ejection is big enough, it can cause certain effects that are similar to an EMP. What the OP is talking about sounds like a distorted version of that danger: a nuclear EMP could directly fry microelectronics, a solar storm is a kind of EMP (solar EMP), but is missing most of the effects that could directly damage microelectronics, and many people conflate the two.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse#Types

[cronix]

Yes, but during the Carrington Event, electrical wires became overloaded and blowing out equipment attached to "the grid."

I've had a computer blow out (sparks, smoke and everything) due to a power surge when the main power went out and then back on, rapidly.

So while the "direct" causes might be different between EMP and CME, the end results are basically the same. I could only imagine what our current (very power sensitive) electronics would do in that scenario.

From the wikipedia Carrington Event you posted:

> Because of the geomagnetically induced current from the electromagnetic field, telegraph systems all over Europe and North America failed, in some cases giving their operators electric shocks.[22] Telegraph pylons threw sparks.

[tivert]

> I've had a computer blow out (sparks, smoke and everything) due to a power surge when the main power went out and then back on, rapidly.

> So while the "direct" causes might be different between EMP and CME, the end results are basically the same.

Not necessarily. My understanding is a CME solar EMP would take out grid-connected devices (via power surges over the grid), but leave most unconnected devices unharmed (e.g. laptops running on battery), but a nuclear EMP would take out both.

[cronix]

But it would also likely take out the grid itself. If all of the massive power cables strewn all over, connected to very large expensive power station transformers, become overloaded at the same time from a CME, I don't predict good things for those transformers and a lot of other things. The laptop would not be able to be recharged without solar or something. It takes a long time (1-2 years is my understanding) to get one single transformer at a power station, under ideal conditions. They are basically made to order, and backlogged.