"I think we show conclusively they do not come from further out [in space]. They are accelerated in the radiation belt itself," said Reiner Friedel, co-author of a paper published in the July issue of the journal Nature Physics.
...
"When killer electrons collect in large numbers, they can penetrate a spacecraft and build up a significant electrical charge.
"The charge is released as a type of electric bolt that can devastate sensitive equipment.
...
"In the outer radiation belts, things are very dynamic," he said.
"Particles can get lost, wiped out completely in a very fast time range, and they can become reaccelerated to levels far exceeding the average level—three orders of magnitude up—in just a couple of days."
"The main reason we're trying to come up with models of the radiation belt [is to] predict when these events are going to happen."
After reading this article (thanks, David Pescovitz and Boing Boing) it is hard not to draw similarities to the fabled Photon Belt legendarily 'made up of electrons, positrons, and negatively-charged particles which, when combined, have at least one important quality: they are extremely reflective' and wreak havoc with electricity.
There is a theory that states 1 of 2 things will happen:
If our Sun enters the belt before the Earth 'we will experience 4 to 5 days and nights or 110 hours of immediate and total darkness. That is at least three days and nights without the sun rising.' Doesn't this sound like an astronomical resurrection?
or
If the Earth enters the belt before our Sun 'the sky will appear to be on fire - incredibly bright and very damaging to the eyes. This also will last a duration of 4 to 5 days and nights ... During this Null time there will be an energy vacuum that will cause ... all electrical power as we know it to cease to exist .. all electrical power generation systems on the planet utilize the planetary magnetic grid to function and in the Null Zone the earth's grid will be immediately neutralized.'
Doesn't this sound similar to the effects of the 'Killer Electrons' as they react with the Space Shuttles:
"[The particles] pose a danger to humans because of cumulative radiation exposure and also by damaging the spacecraft on which they are dependent," said Mike Xapsos, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center unaffiliated with the new research.
When killer electrons collect in large numbers, they can penetrate a spacecraft and build up a significant electrical charge.
The charge is released as a type of electric bolt that can devastate sensitive equipment.
"One common effect is that they cause solar arrays to degrade, and those often supply power to spacecraft," Xapsos said.
If these 'Killer Electrons' are causing significant problems to space shuttles why wouldn't they also cause reactions with the earth and her atmosphere (which, i would assume, is traveling through much of the same space on a much larger scale)? The main topic of environmentalists and politicians these days is Global Warming, with much thanks to individuals such as Al Gore and David Suzuki.
Isn't it just as possible that we are affecting our environment and our environment is being affected from an outside source?
