"Martin Riddle" wrote in message link.net...
"David Knisely" wrote in message
om...
"Thijs Verbeek" wrote in message
li.nl...
Basic elctronics tel me, that when a electro-magnetic storm can have an
impact large enough to overload a power station, it wil influence your
monitor aswel.

My sony tv is mounted on an rotating platform, so I can view television
whereever I sit in my living-room. When I rotate too fast, I get a funny
coloured didtortion at the corners. And that's just the influence from the
earth magnetic field.


Your impression is incorrect. The Earth's magnetic field is far too
weak to signficantly affect a TV monitor. A magnetic storm does not
directly affect a power station. What such a storm does is induce DC
electrical currents in the hundreds and hundreds of miles of
transmission lines in the northern regions of the Earth where the
field strength variations are significant. This can produce power
surges which the distribution network may be unable to handle.

David Knisely

They do make TV's (larger screens) with minor pincushioning adjustment switches for north and
southern latitudes. So, from that info, I'd say the earths magnetic field does affect TV monitors.
Now a CME is another thing alltogether.


You didn't read what I said. I used the word "significantly". I have
not seen such a monitor of that size (a computer monitor, *not* a TV),
and certainly have not seen a "switch" for northern and southern
latitudes. I was operating my 19 inch monitor during the recent
massive geomagnetic storm and noted no changes in its performance. In
any event, if these TV's were not well shielded enough to kill off the
very slight effects of the Earth's magnetic field, then things like
nearby stereo speaker magnets or other appliances would be enough to
cause problems as well, and I would not want to own such a
poorly-designed set. Such a "switch" would be of limited use, as the
orientation of the screen relative to the Earth's field direction
would be a variable which would not be able to be compensated for by
simply switching something. As for a "CME" they are a single event on
the sun that ejects material into interplanetary space. They don't
get into the Earth's atmosphere and are only factors in helping
eventually to create a geomagnetic storm when that ejected material
reaches the vicinity of the Earth's magnetosphere. Clear skies to
you.

David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

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