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kompootor t1_ja9i073 wrote

Reply to comment by vwb2022 in Magnetic pole reversal by Gopokes91

It should also be noted that time during which a geomagnetic reversal takes place is by any estimates 2k--12k years. So even if we're headlong into it, Comparatively, magnetic North's speedy yearly drifting would overshadow any observation of an overall movement of the poles to flip (if the pole's wobbles were a consistent-direction drift then it would be in the Antarctic within 400 years.) And because airport runways are numbered according to their magnetic compass direction (instead of true), the wobbly North pole means regular runway repainting, costing the aviation industry upwards of tens of dollars per year!

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EmeraldAlicorn t1_ja9sjyz wrote

CGP grey has an amazing video on all of this that might be helpful for OP. I it's called "the simple secret of runway digits"

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Spiderbanana t1_ja9xng4 wrote

Tens of dollars a year? Damn they'll surely go bankrupt soon

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