Tesla and the Discovery of Cosmic Rays 🔍
1899 – While experimenting with high-voltage receivers in Colorado, Nikola Tesla detected unknown signals.
He assumed they came from the Sun or other stars – the first indication of cosmic radiation.
It was later revealed he had registered cosmic rays (which Victor Hess would confirm in 1912).
Irony: Hess received the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics, while Tesla remained in the shadows regarding this matter too. Let’s not forget Tesla’s insufficiently appreciated contributions regarding radio technology and X-ray radiation.
What Are Cosmic Rays? ☄️
High-energy particles (mostly protons, helium nuclei, heavier elements) traveling through space at near-light speed.
Origin:
Supernovae – explosions of massive stars when they shed their outer layers during gravitational collapse of the core and interior, are the main source (explosion shockwaves accelerate particles).
Black holes, pulsars, active galaxies – extreme sources of ultra-high energies.
Impact on Earth:
Arrives non-stop, but the atmosphere protects us (when hit by these beams it ionizes and creates secondary particles).
In small quantities – affects DNA mutations (perhaps even accelerating evolution).
Lethal Strikes: Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB) and Mass Extinctions ☢️
Gamma-ray burst (GRB) – the most powerful explosions in the universe (energy emission in seconds equivalent to what the Sun radiates in a billion years).
Two types:
Long GRB (2 sec – several minutes) – associated with Type Ic supernovae (collapse of massive stars into black holes).
Short GRB (under 2 sec) – neutron star mergers.
Damage to Earth:
If a GRB hits a planet from nearby (<6,000 light years) – destroys the ozone layer, causes mass extinctions (like the Ordovician, 445 million years ago).
The theory, which isn’t fully proven, is that a GRB may have killed 60% of marine species in that era.
Modern Threats and Technological Collapse 💻🔥
A nearby GRB (e.g. from the Milky Way) could:
Sterilize the surface with X-ray and gamma radiation.
Damage satellites and electronics (similar to the Carrington Event, but several orders of magnitude stronger).
How to defend ourselves?
There is currently no protection except fortunate cosmic circumstances (that there are no nearby GRBs in our galaxy).
Some suggest underground cities or plasma protective shields (hypothetical).
Connection to Tesla’s Work ⚡🧠
Tesla had an intuition about the danger of “alien signals”, but didn’t have the technology to analyze them.
Today we know that cosmic explosions are a real threat – perhaps even greater than asteroids.
Conclusion:
Cosmic radiation is both a creator (influenced evolution) and a destroyer (potential cause of mass extinctions). If a GRB hits us one day, the fate of civilization may depend on whether we have time to hide and protect ourselves.
MilovanInnovation covers topics of cosmic and other dangers to our civilization and our biological survival not for mere sensationalism. The purpose of such posts is to spread awareness about such topics that are neglected compared to some passing current events.
Fear won’t change things and our chances of surviving such events. Only deeper understanding and comprehension of such phenomena can help us face them prepared and with some positive chances.
Future technology will first offer solutions for early and reliable detection of gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic radiation. And for creating energy shields and deflectors, we’ll need new scientific and technological breakthroughs inspired by what we can currently see in SciFi cinematography and literature.
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