[greg92]

I was reading about the massive EMP from the solar flare of 1859 causing great electrical disturbance. Would that type of flare fry audio speakers? I know this is an esoteric question-just wondering.

[Phil A]

I was reading about the massive EMP from the solar flare of 1859 causing great electrical disturbance. Would that type of flare fry audio speakers? I know this is an esoteric question-just wondering.

I was only in first grade in 1859 ( ) so I don't remember much but this might help explain it -  https://science.howstuffworks.com/solar-flare-electronics.htm

[Letitroll98]

There was no electrical infrastructure in 1859, did you perhaps mean 1959?

When I first saw the title of the thread my mind went to audio.  "Our newest subwoofer model, the Solar EMP, will be released next month".

[greg92]

It fried telegraph lines and equipment. https://www.space.com/the-carrington-event Our complex electronics and electrical grid are vulnerable when this happens again. Just wondering if I  have to wrap my Salks in aluminum foil. 

[RonN5]

This article gives you the answer, put your Salks and your electronics in a Faraday Cage....and you can leave them in there for listening.

https://uwk.com/blogs/blog/how-to-protect-electronics-against-an-emp-electromagnetic-pulse#ruffruff-table-of-contents-item-15

[Mudslide]

The problem is that if this side of the planet takes a direct hit by a top-class solar storm, no electronics/electricity will be working at all.  A small exception would be hardened military stuff.  So, no electricity to any Faraday wrapped equipment (perhaps other than wrapped solar generators and some communication gear) will still render them completely useless.  If hit by such a storm, it has been estimated that it would take a full year to get the U.S. electrical grid back up and running.  The U.S. would return instantly back to the stone age.  No water.  No heat.  No food production or delivery.  No law enforcement.  No gasoline or travel.  No medical care.  Etc.  It has been estimated by Federal studies that up to 90% of the U.S. population would NOT survive one year under those conditions.    (And I'm not particularly happy about my imbedded pacemaker/defibrillator!)

The U.S. NEEDS to harden the electrical infrastructure.  Russia and China are already in the process of doing so.  We're doing squat.  Prep my friends.

[S Clark]

Well, my Dodd battery preamp and 24V Folsom amp will still be making music, admittedly from an old Sony portable CD player.  But it still sounds pretty good.     

[Mudslide]

Yeah, tube stuff might still work, but it'll be bye-bye to all IC's.

[greg92]

Yes, tube equipment would most likely handle the voltage. You had to wait for your electronics to "warm up" and I never knew what a surge protector is. I read how a captured Russian fighter was being examined and the Americans smugly smirked the radio was tube based. That is until they realized it was designed to survive an Atomic Blast EMP.  Russian philosophy was drop an expensive watch and it breaks, drop a Mickey Mouse watch and it keeps on working.  This type of event is certain to happen again and I was just curious if crossover components might take hit. 

[Speedskater]

If a Solar Flare fry's your loudspeaker, you and everyone else will have much, much bigger problems to deal with.

[Letitroll98]

The Amish will be just fine.  Make lots of Amish friends.