1
$\begingroup$

Earth's 2 poles, north and south, form a magnetic dipole that goes though the center core, and on a flat map we see the poles on the top and bottom.

I have a world which consists of only a single pole with no equal opposing pole, and on a flat map this pole is located in the center. The reason for this is because this pole is shared with another world via a dimensional portal and the "life energy" flows in and out of this pole similar to how ∞ looks.

if this world was to take the form of a planet would it still be spherical like earth given that only 1 pole would extend out of its core?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
8
  • $\begingroup$ Magnetic monopoles are unknown in physics. To allow that, you need handwavium at low level of particle physics, and who knows how it would affect other things, like gravity. $\endgroup$
    – Mołot
    Commented Sep 6, 2016 at 4:18
  • $\begingroup$ Magnetic monopoles are known to physics as predictions from grand unified theories and superstring theory. Early versions of quantum mechanics also predicted their existence. None have been discovered to date. Gravity determines the shape of planets. A monopolar Earth would be Earth shaped. Two monopoles connected via dimensional portal isn't utterly implausible. No bad physics prizes. $\endgroup$
    – a4android
    Commented Sep 6, 2016 at 5:23
  • $\begingroup$ More information about magnetic monopoles and physics can be found in the Wikipedia entry. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_monopole $\endgroup$
    – a4android
    Commented Sep 6, 2016 at 6:32
  • $\begingroup$ @Mołot he expained that a wormhole separates the two poles. This creates the appearance of two monopoles to the outside. $\endgroup$
    – JDługosz
    Commented Sep 6, 2016 at 21:13
  • $\begingroup$ I saw a simulation about the pole flip that's upcoming (overdue actually). During that time, Earth will have many magnetic poles, until it stabilizes with 2 poles again. $\endgroup$
    – Thomas Weller
    Commented Sep 6, 2016 at 22:21

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
5
$\begingroup$

No, the magnetic field won't affect the shape of the planet as caused by gravity.

But, as Mołot points out, the question is completely open and unanswerable because the dimensional portal can affect the gravity or apparent shape in some unknown manner. This is up to the author. You can claim it results in a teardrop shape like half the the infinity sign, with the portal at the pointy end.

(BTW you can draw a flat map with any orientation and center the projection anywhere.)

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
$\begingroup$

Not really, the magnetism on a planetary scale isn't really even enough to mess with formations that are ferrous (iron hills). BUT, the inverse would be Quite true: ring worlds or torus shaped (or even a half sphere due to some previous cataclysm) would be a good start to explain How the planet ended up with a non standard magnetic form. Think about what happens if you break a magnet into a couple pieces, each then ends up with its own N/S duality, and you can't actually just stick them back together, their fields take on all sorts of discordant shapes.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
$\begingroup$

Yes! but not by much. Maybe I just like posting contrarian answers.

This assumption might be incorrect, feel free to challenge it — I don't believe a single non-dipole magnet produces a magnetic field that would be sufficient to shelter Earth.

If above assumption is true, then this hypothetical Earth is going to be fried by solar weather on a consistent basis as it lacks its protective magnetic field. An Earth without life ends up quite a bit flatter, because plant life is actually one of the heaviest resisters of erosion, and without it you see some pretty heavy erosion effects, particularly from rain. This tends to flatten hills (especially islands) and heavily exaggerates water ways and river deltas.

For a real world comparison, Haiti underwent 98% deforestation. If you look at an aerial photo of the island from 2004 and compare it to one from 2014, you'll notice the river delta has nearly quadrupled in size since the massive deforestation.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ I was hesitating considering whether thus was a proper answer (for a non reality-check question) or a comment, pointing out flaws with the premise. But you worked in how this state of affairs would affect the “shape” after all! Bravo. I bolded the “actual answer” part because it’s burried. $\endgroup$
    – JDługosz
    Commented Sep 7, 2016 at 13:14

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .