Armagneddon
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By Veefre
- Armagneddon
- Created: Mar 4, 2008
- Last updated: Aug 14, 2008
- After episode: 3.22: Through The Looking Glass
- Status: Current
- Flag this theory:
Where Real Science and LOST Science Collide
— Veefre
The earth’s magnetic field shields it from the solar wind, and provides a relatively stable reference point for navigation. However, it is not a guaranteed phenomenon. The magnetic poles have swapped direction many times over the Earth’s existence, accompanied with dramatic drops in the overall field strength and prolonged periods of geomagnetic stability.
The last geomagnetic reversal occurred some 750,000 years ago. This means that the dawn of man was during a period of geomagnetic stability. In other times, such as 15 million and 42 million years ago, geomagnetic reversals have occured as frequently as every 175,000 years.
In some cases the reversal has been accompanied by a near total collapse of the magnetic poles, with micro magnetic poles appearing eslewhere on the earth’s surface. The instability of the magnetic field is most pronounced in equatorial/tropical regions.
Using current technology, science is unable to predict when the next geomagnetic reversal will occur. However it is noteworthy that the earth’s magnetic field decreased in strength over the past 2,000 years, with an accelerated decrease over the past 150 years.
The effects of a geomagnetic reversal on mankind have never been seen. The worst case is that the reversal will be accompanied by a disappearance of the magnetic field, the solar wind will strip away our atmosphere, and everything on earth will die. However since this didn’t happen before, it seems unlikely. More likely would be that a period of geomagnetic instability, which has been seen many times in the geomagnetic record, will wreck havoc with our electrical power transmission systems, communications, and navigation. It could severely affect our modern technology-dependent civilization.
It is proposed that strong surface magnetic anomalies such as occur on the Island are related to the impending geomagnetic reversal, as potential micromagnetic poles. Other regions with similar magnetic anomalies might include the area of Tunisia where the Dharma polar bear skeleton was found. It is likely that magnetic instability will adversely affect various animals’ innate ability to navigate, and that the Dharma Initiative was trying to test this by placing animals from one latitude in another latitude.
It is further proposed, that while the Valenzetti Equation predicts the end of mankind due to a sort of technological overload, a period of geomagnetic instability would cripple much of our advanced technology. Some parties wish to induce geomagnetic reversal - or at least a prolonged period of geomagnetic instability - to disrupt advanced technology and therefore change the core (magnetic core?) values of the equation, thereby saving the human species from itself. They seek control over the Island in order use its magnetic anomaly to help induce the geomagnetic shift.
The various stations on the Island, especially the Swan and the Tempest stations, were built to try to control the Island’s magnetic anomaly and thereby forestall the next geomagnetic reversal until the core values could be changed to avert it completely.
Since tradtional science holds that the earth’s magnetic fields are controlled by the flow of one or more layers of molten iron at the earth’s core, and possibly also by the mantle, it is difficult to see how changing some numbers would affect this, but perhaps this is where real science and LOST science collide.
The various time-altering aspects of the Island’s magnetic fields and the various apparitions are side effects of the magnetic phenomena , and not the cause of the impending catastrophe, but are in themselves a cause for concern.
Key characters
| Short Name | Full Name | Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desmond | Desmond David Hume | 2.23, 3.17, 4.5 | 858 |
Key episodes
| # | Title | Aired | Central character | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.22 | Through The Looking Glass | 5-23-2007 | Jack | 1252 |
Key events
| Theme | Relevant Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|
| Jack sees his father on the island | 1.4 | 217 |
| Oceanic Flight 815 crashes | 1.1 | 586 |
| Sawyer kills a polar bear | 1.2 | 123 |
Key locations
| Theme | Relevant Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|
| The blast door map | 2.17 | 159 |
| The Swan station | 2.20, 2.23, 2.14, 2.17, 2.1, 2.2, 1.11, 3.3, 3.8 | 469 |
The pole reversal will have most impact upon how the tectonic plates will move once the polarity of the planet changes. The change will be extremely small, but will be suffecient to cause major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The only problem to this idea is that this would only change the positions of the gateway eddies leading to the island.
The valenzetti equation acording to http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/TheValenzettiEquation is being used to calculate the end of the human race given the current rate of technological advancement, not specifically the point in which the poles will reverse, although that might hold a minimal participation within its entirety.
Thanks for the link to the lostpedia article on the Valenzetti Equation. I might have to retract that part of my theory.
However I think you have the relationship between plate tectonics and geomagnetism reversed; the plates (and underlying mantle) probably effect geomagnetism more than the other way around.
Here is a good article on geomagnetic shift. I don’ t belive it mentions earthquakes and volcanoes as any possible result of geomagnetic reversal, but it does mention a theory that subducted plates may induce geomagnetic instability:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal
“A minority opinion, [as opposed by the majority opinion that geomagnetic reversals are due to chaotic motions of liquid metal in the Earth’s core] , held by such figures as Richard A. Muller, is that geomagnetic reversals are not spontaneous processes but rather triggered by external events which directly disrupt the flow in the Earth’s core. Such processes may include the arrival of continental slabs carried down into the mantle by the action of plate tectonics at subduction zones, the initiation of new mantle plumes from the core-mantle boundary, and possibly mantle-core shear forces resulting from very large impact events. Supporters of this theory hold that any of these events could lead to a large scale disruption of the dynamo, effectively turning off the geomagnetic field. Because the magnetic field is stable in either the present North-South orientation or a reversed orientation, they propose that when the field recovers from such a disruption it spontaneously chooses one or the other state, such that a recovery is seen as a reversal in about half of all cases. Brief disruptions which do not result in reversal are also known and are called geomagnetic excursions”
I stand by the part of my theory that holds that the Island’s magnetic anomaly is a nascent locus of a magnetic micro pole in the event of the disappearance of the two poles during a geomagnetic reversal interim period. These interim periods can last hundreds, if not thousands of years.
That the Valenzetti Equation may not apply here is actually a good thing. I believe it is a mistake to try to attribute disasters to single causes - it is a human tendency to try to oversimplify reality, and it well may be there are multiple unrelated processes at work which if they coincide by chance would spell an even greater calamity. Thus, the self-destructive potential of man’s technological evolution may be independent of the geomatic reversal process. And perhaps it could be argued that a period of geomagnetic instability is just what is needed to halt our race to technological oblivion, as it could set our technology back signficantly in and of itself. Without the need to disseminate a virus that exterminates 30% of the world’s population. So perhaps there are those who wish to induce a geomagnetic reversal in order to save mankind from itself!
Good research. The area in which the polar bear was found is in one of the ‘vile vortices’, which are based on magnetic fields and such. i’m a strong believer in magnetic fields in lost, so +1 from me
Thanks. I am revising my original theory, to the effect that while the Valenzetti Equation predicts the end of mankind, some parties wish to induce geomagnetic reversal - or at least a prolonged period of geomagnetic instability - to disrupt advanced technology and therefore change the core (magnetic core?) values of the equation.