The cycle of day and night and the cycle of seasons are two
familiar natural cycles around which many human activities are
organized. But is there a third natural cycle of importance for us
humans? On 13 March 1989, six million people in Canada went without
electricity for many hours: a large explosion on the sun was
discovered as the cause of this blackout. Such explosions occur
above sunspots, dark features on the surface of the Sun that have
been observed through telescopes since the time of Galileo. The
number of sunspots has been found to wax and wane over a period of
11 years. Although this cycle was discovered less than two
centuries ago, it is becoming increasingly important for us as
human society becomes more dependent on technology. For nearly a
century after its discovery, the cause of the sunspot cycle
remained completely shrouded in mystery. The 1908 discovery of
strong magnetic fields in sunspots made it clear that the 11-year
cycle is the magnetic cycle of the sun. It is only during the last
few decades that major developments in plasma physics have at last
given us the clue to the origins of the cycle and how the large
explosions affecting the earth arise. Nature's Third Cycle
discusses the fascinating science behind the sunspot cycle, and
gives an insider's perspective of this cutting-edge scientific
research from one of the leaders of the field.
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