If a switch happens, we would be exposed to solar winds capable of punching holes into the ozone layer.
The impact could be devastating for mankind, knocking out power grids, radically changing Earth's climate and driving up rates of cancer.
'This is serious business', Richard Holme, Professor of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences at Liverpool University told MailOnline. 'Imagine for a moment your electrical power supply was knocked out for a few months – very little works without electricity these days.'