NASA’s MMS Mission Cracks 60-Year Mystery of Fast Magnetic Explosions

hubie writes:

Scientists with NASA's MMS Mission Crack 60-Year Mystery of Fast Magnetic Explosions

In just minutes, a flare on the Sun can release enough energy to power the whole world for 20,000 years. An explosive process called magnetic reconnection triggers these solar flares and scientists have spent the last half-century trying to understand how the process happens.

It's not just a scientific curiosity: A fuller understanding of magnetic reconnection could enable insights into nuclear fusion and provide better predictions of particle storms from the Sun that can affect Earth-orbiting technology.

Now, scientists with NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, or MMS, think they've figured it out. The scientists have developed a theory that explains how the most explosive type of magnetic reconnection - called fast reconnection - occurs and why it happens at a consistent speed. The new theory uses a common magnetic effect that's used in household devices, such as sensors that time vehicle anti-lock braking systems and know when a cell phone flip cover is closed.

Read more of this story at SoylentNews.