# Does the Earth's magnetic field make life here possible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 14, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-earths-magnetic-field-make-life-here-possible/567656 "2011-01-14T23:48:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![figure9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@figure9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/figure9)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-earths-magnetic-field-make-life-here-possible/567656/1 "2011-01-14T23:48:51Z")
Someone told me that the Earth’s magnetic field stops the charged particles from the solar wind. If the magnetic field was not there, the solar wind would fry us all. Is this true? Or is it somewhat of an oversimplification? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-earths-magnetic-field-make-life-here-possible/567656/2 "2011-01-15T00:13:41Z")
I’m sure there will be plenty of expert 'dopers on to discuss this any second, but my understanding is without the magnetic field the solar winds would strip the planet of a lot of it’s atmosphere and liquid water, as well as the problem you asked about (i.e. the radiation that would get through that is currently being partially diverted by the magnetic field). Which means the answer is ‘yes’…without the earth’s magnetic field, higher life forms (and even lower life forms for all I know) would ultimately be screwed. In the short term it would also screw up our telecommunications systems and destroy much of our technical infrastructure…again, at least that’s my understanding based on some of the emergency planning for high level solar activity I’ve seen. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-earths-magnetic-field-make-life-here-possible/567656/3 "2011-01-15T00:20:29Z")
Mars is massive enough and cool enough that it should be able to support a much thicker atmosphere, comparable to our own (and yes, that also means that ours is thinner than it could be, too). Last I heard, the best hypothesis as to why it’s as thin as it is is its very weak magnetic field, that the solar wind did indeed blow most of the atmosphere away. That’s a slow process, though: Even if Earth’s magnetic field were to somehow disappear permanently, we’d probably still be OK for tens or hundreds of millions of years. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-earths-magnetic-field-make-life-here-possible/567656/4 "2011-01-15T00:22:24Z")
[The Solar Wind at Mars](http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast31jan_1/) > [@](#): > > 2001: > New evidence from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft supports a long-held suspicion that much of the Red Planet’s atmosphere was simply blown away – by the solar wind. [Solar Wind Rips Up Martian Atmosphere](http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/21nov_plasmoids/) > [@](#): > > 2008: > Researchers have found new evidence that the atmosphere of Mars is being stripped away by solar wind. It’s not a gently continuous erosion, but rather a ripping process in which chunks of Martian air detach themselves from the planet and tumble into deep space. This surprising mechanism could help solve a longstanding mystery about the Red Planet. > > “It helps explain why Mars has so little air,” says David Brain of UC Berkeley, who presented the findings at the 2008 Huntsville Plasma Workshop on October 27th. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-earths-magnetic-field-make-life-here-possible/567656/5 "2011-01-15T00:51:02Z")
On the flip side, one could argue that if Earth had never had its magnetic field, we could imagine life evolving to be more resistant to radiation. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-earths-magnetic-field-make-life-here-possible/567656/6 "2011-01-15T07:25:25Z")
Yes, it’s possible it may affect biological life in a negative way. When the magnetic field collapses during the next geomagnetic reversal it will certainly change how much energy moves through the atmosphere.