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Magnetic Field Reversals on the Sun
On Aug 2, 2:10*am, Sam Wormley wrote:
The question was recently put to me: What causes the Magnetic Field Reversals on the Sun? Although certainly observed, I don't think the solar dynamo is well enough understood to know why there is such regularity of magnetic field reversals. I wouldn't be surprise if that answer is just around the corner. Some Background: * *http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...01/ast15feb_1/ The way I (weakly) understand it: The magnetic field of all stars is largely toroidal. Some of this field is below the surface of the sun in the form of flux tubes. These can be seen in videos of our sun. Hotter portions of these flux tubes tend to rise and expand due to magnetic buoyancy. Sometimes a portion of the tube will rise past the "surface" of the sun. The places where the tube penetrates the surface form a pair of sunspots. These spots are cooler because the cooler portion of the tube is down low, the hotter portion is above. These spots always form pairs, + and -. The pairs move away from one another. The + spot is attracted to the - pole, the - spot is attracted to the + pole. When they arrive there, part of the polar field is cancelled. As the polar field weakens the system becomes even less stable and more sunspots form. The Sun goes through a year with no clear polarity, then (for some reason) emerges with the poles reversed. |
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