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Would it be possible to have an advanced technological society without abundant iron? And if there was a solar storm as strong at the Carrington event of 1859, would it knock out the electronics in planes so they couldn’t land safely?

22 January 2025

2FWP497 Liquid iron molten metal pouring from ladle container into mold, industrial metallurgical factory, foundry cast, heavy industry background.

DedMityay/Alamy

Would it be possible to have an advanced technological society without abundant iron?

Robert Bodnaryk, Winnipeg, Canada

Coronal mass ejection 05/11/2018 3372 views 12 likes 402495 ID Like Download COOKIES To enable the sharing functionality, please accept all cookies. To adjust your cookie settings, click here. Details Related This image, acquired by the LASCO C2 coronagraph instrument on the ESA-NASA SOHO spacecraft, was taken 8 January 2002 and shows a widely spreading coronal mass ejection (CME) as it blasts more than a billion tons of matter out into space at millions of kilometers per hour. This C2 image was turned 90 degrees so that the blast seems to be pointing down. A second image, from the EIT disk imager on a different day was enlarged and superimposed on the C2 image so that it filled the occulting disk for effect. CREDIT ESA/NASA/Soho

ESA/NASA/Soho

If there were a solar storm as strong as the Carrington event of 1859, would it knock out the electronics in planes so they couldn’t land safely?

Barry Cash,

Bristol, UK

To answer this question – or ask a new one – email lastword@newscientist.com.

Questions should be scientific enquiries about everyday phenomena, and both questions and answers should be concise. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style. Please include a postal address, daytime telephone number and email address.

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