Solar Flares are really cool. I know that doesn’t make literal sense, but as a figure of speech I think it works. The idea that magnetic fields can hold back such large amounts of energy is incredible, especially since magnetism isn’t a very “flashy” force on the level we normally see it. It gets even more fascinating when we realize that one well-aimed flare and it’s associated coronal mass ejection (all the material it throws out) could potentially wreck our planet, taking down communication, power, really anything with a wire in it.
A solar flare is caused by magnetic fields becoming too tightly twisted due to the sun’s rotation, until they eventually “snap back” and correct themselves. However, since the extra energy built up in the fields has to go somewhere (Thanks Newton!) it is released into space as a burst of light, energy and material called a solar flare! One thing I didn’t realize beforehand is just how broad-spectrum the flare actually is! I had always assumed it was a mostly visible flash, maybe some UV or Infrared, but according to NSO.edu I was totally wrong! According to the link below: “… a solar flare covers the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from the low energy radio waves, through infrared and visible, into the higher energy ultraviolet and X-rays, and even into the super high-energy gamma rays (for the really big flares). ”
To demonstrate the release of energy and material by a solar flare, I am using an old magic trick I knew using two paperclips and a dollar bill. I will attach a video below to demonstrate what this looks like. For the analogy, think of the paper clips as individual field lines and the material trapped on them, and the dollar bill as the rest of the magnetic field. The material is initially on separate areas of the field, and doesn’t interact with itself. As the fields become more and more tangled (the bill gets pulled closer together), the energy between the two lines increases, until eventually it hits a breaking point. It is then that the main field reconnects with itself and the two individual lines connect to each other. Now, the main magnetic field has lowered it total energy by removing the tension, but since it has to go somewhere the smaller section now has tons of energy in much much less mass. This causes it to rocket off into space (no pun intended) at high speed, just like the paperclips!