Alternatively, what would happen if the loss of magnetism instead happened gradually over a period of time?

  • NihilsineNefas@slrpnk.net
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    1 hour ago

    Every single electrical item on the planet stops working, because every generator, turbine, and motor immediately stops running.

    Car batteries never charge, starter motors won’t turn, and any hall effect sensors cease to operate.

    Kitchen floors would be covered with souvenirs and notes.

    Society would collapse

  • John Doe@lemmy.world
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    14 hours ago

    People couldn’t use their MagSafe iPhone accessories and society would crumble within days (You can’t tell me I don’t know what Vietnam was like!!)

  • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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    21 hours ago

    generally speaking, mass chaos and hysteria and then nothingness.

    if we exclude the possibility of “magic” doing it, and instead focus on the realistic causes of a loss of magnetism the chances for just magnets to be directly impacted are low.

    that is, the strength of phenomena that would be required for all magnets in the world to cease functioning it would also likely cause the magnetic cohesion of molecules and atoms to break. this breakdown at the atomic and subatomic level would cause a chain reaction where we would both cease to exist and explode with enough energy to destroy the universe.

    if any atoms of you survived at all, they would be flung to the outer reaches of the universe in seconds only for the entirety of the universe to be sucked into the void such an explosion caused. it would probably be something akin to a big bang.

    • Twanquility@feddit.dk
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      1 day ago

      Most electricity is being created with the use of magnets i motors/generators. No more electricity then.

      Asides from batteries and solar.

  • ThePyroPython@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Rather than listing all of the ways modern life and society would collapse it’d be easier to just say this:

    Your ability to understand the world would in an instant be limited to the people that immediately surround you and you’d better quickly think of a way to find a clean water source, some land, grab an “Agriculture for Dummies” book, and some form of weapon to defend your new homestead with your new tribe.

      • ThePyroPython@lemmy.world
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        21 hours ago

        Well is this about permanent magnets loosing their functionality or the whole concept of magnetism just vanishing?

        One puts us back to a steampunk technological ceiling the other means the universe pops out of existence; electricity, magnetism, and light are closely linked so removing one is likely to just break reality.

    • aeronmelon@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Maybe the exercise should be limited to all ferrous metals just became inert.

      • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Welp, bye bye to the shield against the Sun’s deadly laser. Although I guess that also means bye bye to the laser too? Hmm.

  • PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca
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    1 day ago

    If you mean a complete absence of the electromagnetic force, then chemistry and physics are going to get very disastrous for us very quickly

    • Humanius@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Electricity generation would suddenly also get a lot harder. Without dynamos I think the only real option becomes solar panels.

    • notsure@fedia.io
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      2 days ago

      …magnets is quite general, but i believe it counts, and yeah, fucking everything stops…

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    You would hard pressed to learn about the details without electricity and communication networks.