Will a solar flare send us into the Stone Age?

Earth is being hit constantly by solar storms; which is the term given for increased activity from the Sun.  While we are protected, for the most part, by our magnetic field a gigantic solar flare could easily penetrate this protective barrier but what would happen to us?  

Solar flare

While our Sun seems to just be a consistently burning ball of gases it will sometimes ramp up its activity.  This increase in solar activity will see massive magma plumes try to break free from the surface, and some of the more massive ones will break the powerful gravitational force of the Sun.  When this happens, the magma cloud, now known as a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), will hurtle through our Solar System at high speed.  Should Earth be unfortunate enough to be in the path of this magma plume it will be hit with huge force.  If our magnetic field is unable to hold off the advances of this storm it will penetrate our atmosphere and cause an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) that will fry electrical and electronic components, rendering them useless.  

Damage

When the Coronal Mass Ejection penetrates our atmosphere it will ionise our atmosphere and send electrons bouncing around for several hours.  These electrons will strike the surface of Earth and bounce off into the atmosphere before bouncing off that and returning to the surface, over and over until its energy is expelled.  Not only will these highly excited electrons destroy electrical circuitry it will also take out a few low-orbit satellites as well.  Some of these satellites could control things like telecommunications so expect your phone to stop functioning, even if its internal circuitry survives. Devices fit for destruction by an EMP:

• TV’s
• Fridges
• Cars
• Electrical pylons
• High tension wires
• Transformers
• Electricity sub-stations
• Entire power plants
• and… every single thing electrical or electronic

Should a gigantic solar flare hit Earth, anywhere on Earth, it would see some nations electrical grid, electronics, military capability and economics come to a dramatic stop.  Regardless of how large the solar flare may be there will be some nations that will survive without a scratch.  Those countries unaffected will see an unbelievable influx of migrants fleeing the problems of their destroyed nations. Many people will die from being trapped in elevators, dying on the operating table when all power is lost (including emergency generators), thousands of car crashes and fender benders and any other activity that requires electrical power for its operation or for safety. Many people will die from being trapped in elevators. Share on X  

Recovery

A gigantic solar flare will be hugely devastating to Earth and will indirectly kill millions of people but it certainly will not be the end of us and we will recover.  The areas affected will certainly be screwed up for several decades but will be able to recover eventually.  Transformers and electrical sub-stations will be the first things that need to be replaced in order to get electricity to vital factories and facilities that in turn can help to re-create all that was lost. Such an event will send us into the Stone Age but we will have recovered within 50 years.