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Article: Solar outbursts. (solar flares research)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- August 22, 1992
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Think of the sunk magnetic helds as the ultimate in rubber-band power
Anchored in the sunk visible surface, these fields loop outward, sometimes arching thousands of kilometers into the upper reaches of the solar atmosphere. And when stretched or twisted, they build up vast amounts of energy.
Stresses result when a buried magnetic field suddenly pokes through the sunk visible surface, or when the sunk rotations jerk one magnetic anchor of a loop into a new position, or when one loop bumps into an oppositely directed, neighboring loop.
Whatever the cause, when a magnetic field is strained beyond its limit, it snaps. And then all hell breaks ...