ICE! The stupid move.

Factual Questions
1

Yes I watched that stupid move last night, but it had an interesting premise. A sunspot covering 25% of the surface of
the sun brings on the next Ice Age in 4 days time. So my questions are:

  1. Could a sunspot be that big, and what would it mean to the sun? To the earth?

2)How much would the sun need to change (+/-) to make life difficult for us?

3)If there is a significant change in the sun, how long before we feel the effect here on earth?

4)How long would earth have if the sun went dark suddenly?

5)How many ways can they destroy the Hollywood sign? :smiley:

2

  1. The earth is 8 lightminutes from the sun. If the sun were to suddenly go dark, we’d see it 8 minutes after it happened.

  2. I can’t give any firm numbers, but all plant life would die within days. We’d have until our food stores ran out.

  3. Screw the sign; How many different ways can we destroy Hollywood? :smiley:

3

It was really bad. Really, really bad. The characters had about as much depth as . . . as . . . as something really shallow. Okay, I’m not very good at flames, but trust me, the movie stank.

4

On the same time & channel the week before, they did one called FIRE. I saw that. I knew not to watch this new one ICE…

Wonder what is next week? AIR?

Interesting about that 8 minute light trip. That would mean we can see 8 minutes into the past. Hmm might make an interesting topic. I shall try it.

5

I saw this movie too–not exactly a cinematic masterpiece. It shouldn’t take much of a change in the sun to have a large effect on climate. Just look at the difference between seasons, or the drop in temperature after sunset.

I had a couple of questions about the movie:

If it was summer in Los Angeles, and the sun running dim made it so cold that the ocean was frozen over in Malibu, why did everyone think it would be warm at the equator?

In the movie temperatures were far below zero Fahrenheit. How did all the moisuture get in the air which resulted in around 30 feet of snow?

6

The stupid move usually gets me ice to the knee that got injured and you guys were just yakking about a dumb movie.

Have a heart. Misery loves company. Are there none among you that keeps frozen peas or corn just for knee injuries?

Has “DO NOT EAT” magic markered on bags of frozen veggies that surprise and entertain those friends who think they will find ice cubes in there and won’t use them when they do?

Keeps ace bandages in the den like other people have pillows?

Stores writing materials at ground level so if you get stuck on the floor with knees locked bent or straight you’ll be able to entertain yourself 'til you can crawl into the kitchen to get ice?

7

Yep, 2 bags of frozen peas,just for my knees. (of course if someone wanted to eat them, I don’t think I would stop them.)(the peas,that is) Ace bandages are under the ottoman. Playstation is kept on the floor for those ‘I am not moving’ days. Another tip: A nine-iron is a useful tool for pushing, pulling, and retrieving items you can’t reach from the floor.

8

Never fall asleep with those peas! I did once and my room smelled like rotten peas for weeks! ugh!

Back to your regularly scheduled OP

9

Thank You. :wink:

Sorry about the spelling mistakes. :o
I am still interested in the questions I asked in the OP.

10

I haven’t seen the movie, but from a scientific point of view…

  1. Could a sunspot be that big, and what would it mean to the sun? To the earth?

A single sunspot covering 25% of the sun? I’d say it’s very, very unlikely. Now, lots of normal-sized sunspots adding up to 25% is somewhat more believable, but we don’t know if that would actually reduce the energy output of the sun. That is, a lot of sunspots means a lot of magnetic activity, so the rest of the sun can get brighter. Also, remember that sunspots aren’t completely dark. It’s just darker than the rest of the sun.

2)How much would the sun need to change (+/-) to make life difficult for us?

The temperature of the earth is where the incoming energy from sunlight balances the energy radiated away as infrared. Radiation is prportional to T[sup]4[/sup]. So if the sun became 1/16 as bright, the temperature of the earth will drop till the earth radiates 1/16 of the amount. That happens at half the present temperature, or about 150K (-120C).

So what temperature is “difficult for us”? Maybe 30 degrees C difference? That’s 0.9 times the current temperature, so energy output (=input) will decrease to 0.9[sup]4[/sup]=0.65 of the present value. That’s a 35% decrease. A 15-degree difference will still require a 20% drop in the sun’s brightness.

3)If there is a significant change in the sun, how long before we feel the effect here on earth?

8 minutes is the obvious answer, but it probably takes several months for the temperature to drop by the amount calculated above. That’s how long seasonal temperature changes seem to take. (Hottest days of summer comes a months or two after summer solstice)

4)How long would earth have if the sun went dark suddenly?

How long would it have what? Ability to support life? What kind of life?

Of course, there is some speculation that during the Middle Ages the sun’s output was slightly decreased, resulting in worldwide famine. There were fewer sunspots during that time, called the Maunder Minimum. Fewer sunspots indicates reduced activity in the sun.

11

“I haven’t seen the movie…”(scr4)

Belive me you didn’t miss much at all.

“The temperature of the earth is where the incoming energy from sunlight balances the energy radiated away as infrared. Radiation is prportional to T4. So if the sun became 1/16 as bright, the temperature of the earth will drop till the earth radiates 1/16 of the amount. That happens at half the present temperature, or about 150K (-120C).” (scr4)

I almost understand your answer, remember I’m the guy who couldn’t spell ‘movie’. :wink: Could you dumb it down a bit for me?

4)How long would earth have if the sun went dark suddenly?
"How long would it have what? Ability to support life? What kind of life? " (scr4)

How long would we have(people) if the sun went out? Grant it thats not going to happen, but what if. With out the sun, even the air would freeze. How long would that take?

Thank You. :slight_smile:

12

It is interesting. Astronomers use this very premise to try to figure out what has happened to the universe in the past. The reason that they build bigger and better telescopes to try to see farther out, is that light from the furthest reaches takes so long to get here that it is from close to the time of the big bang. So that the further away they look, the further into the past they see.