Jumpstarting Earth’s Hydromagnetic Dynamo

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer

The weakening of Earth’s magnetic field was becoming critical. It had been decreasing five percent a decade since the early twenty first century. If the decay could not be reversed, near-lethal doses of charged cosmic radiation would bombard the surface of the Earth without being diverted. Although humans could tolerate the higher radiation levels, it was predicted that the increase in charged particles would kill the bacteria in the soil that create the nutrients that sustain the plant world. Without the base of the food chain, humans would eventually perish too. Therefore, twenty-five nations voted to fund Professor Johnson’s radical idea to jumpstart Earth’s hydromagnetic dynamo.

The “Dynamo Regenerator” was ten kilometers in diameter, and more than three hundred meters tall. During operation, it consumed the entire output of two dozen 60-gigawatt fusion reactors.

“What do you expect will happen when you throw the switch?” asked a reporter from the Global Post.

“It’s quite simple, really,” replied the Chief Engineer. “Earth’s magnetic field is primarily generated by eddies caused by the interaction between the liquid iron-nickel outer core and the lower mantle. Right now, they are rotating at the same rate. That means no eddies. No eddies; no magnetic field. The Dynamo Regenerator sets up a harmonic frequency wave at the boundary layer between the outer core and lower mantle. It’s analogous to a skier on an unstable pack of snow on the side of a steep mountain. We’re simply attempting to start a Hydromagnetic avalanche. If it works, we’ll create a super-eddy, and reestablish Earth’s magnetic field.”

A disembodied voice then announced, “All systems are green. Start the Regenerator, Chief.”

The Dynamo Regenerator was activated. The lights dimmed and a high pitched whine began to build to a crescendo as unimaginable energy pulsed into the bowels of the Earth. The effect was almost instantaneous. The digital magnetometer began to climb from 2 to 10 microteslas in only a few minutes. The reporter asked, “Is that good?”

“So far,” replied the Chief Engineer. “At this latitude, the field needs to stabilize between 30-60 microteslas.” As they watched, the field climbed to 25…50…100…500…and then the meter started flashing 88888. “Oh shit,” moaned the Chief Engineer.

Nervously, the reporter asked “Higher is better, right?”