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  • The direction of magnetic north suddenly reversed about 786,000 years ago, with new research indicating the switch occurred in under 100 years (Image: UC Berkeley)
    Science
    Earth's magnetic field could reverse in just one lifetime
    The last reversal of Earth's magnetic field occurred some 786,000 years ago and was previously thought to have taken several thousand years but, if new research is correct, the real time it may take for the flip to occur could actually be closer to the span of a human life.