To calenal and miniTAX especially:
You both need to find out more facts regarding nuclear-generated EMP before you so cavalierly dismiss its effects, or what North Korea could do to this country. To be sure, just as you are both pretty dismissive, there are others who think that any EMP at all will be TEOTWAWKI. Check out this article - the single most informative that I have yet seen - for some objective facts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse
FACT: nuclear EMP produces 3 different pulses - E1, E2 and E3. E1 is what you worry about most - it occurs over less than 1,000 nanoseconds, far faster than any surge protectors can work. It can, in fact, fry or partially degrade the surge protectors that WOULD, otherwise, protect against the slower E2 pulse (which is more akin to lightening and, standing alone, very easy to protect against). E3 is most akin to a solar-produced geomagnetic storm, and occurs over as much as hundreds of seconds. This will travel on long electrical lines for hundreds of miles, and fry transformers along the way and at the ends (even buried ones - take a look at the write-up on Soviet Test 184 in PreciousLiberty’s Post #25).
FACT: The strength of an E1 pulse is NOT highly correlated with the strength of the blast of a nuclear weapon. A 10 KT fission bomb can produce 40% of the power of the E1 pulse from the 1.44 MT Starfish Prime event, and that is without “tuning” the weapon to produce more gamma rays (which is what causes the effects that we are discussing). Fusion weapons can, in fact, severely limit the Compton Effect, which is responsible for a lot of the E1’s ability to cause damage. A lot of the impact of the E1 pulse is do to the Compton Effect, which not only helps to intensify the pulse, but makes it effective pretty much for all areas within line of site (hence the reason for a high altitude explosion).
FACT: the E3 pulse IS largely dependent upon the strength of the blast...but once you have had the previous E1 pulse to KO electronic circuitry, followed by the E2 pulse that will, because of the previous E1 pulse, have largely rendered surge protectors ineffective, the E3 pulse will thus be much more difficult to protect against. Keep this in mind also: if the Sun produced a geomagnetic storm, we’d have a day or so of warning, and could literally shut down a lot of the grid to reduce its effects; in a planned attack, no such warning would be available...and no one would be able to make phone calls at all (let alone fast enough to matter) to warn utilities to shut down (which is, to understate the matter considerably, not so simple or fast as flicking your house lights off - especially with nuclear power plants). Thus, E3 is a BIG problem (but generally only with a large nuclear explosion).
In short, guys, we all need to look at FACTS, not some preconceived notions about how EMP works. It isn’t necessarily TEOTWAWKI, but neither is it a nothingburger.
Me? I’m a believer. Israel would do the same to Iran
“In short, guys, we all need to look at FACTS, not some preconceived notions about how EMP works. It isn’t necessarily TEOTWAWKI, but neither is it a nothingburger.”
E1 is certainly not a “nothingburger”, but it will not ‘“fry” the unprotected US power grid and send America back to the 18th Century’. It very possibly could cause significant numbers of deaths, fry a lot of electronics and cause a major short-term economic problem - but within a relatively short time the grid would be up and running again.
Here’s a very detailed report on the potential effects of E1 on the US. All calculations were done with a 500 KT yield.
https://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/reliability/cybersecurity/ferc_meta-r-320.pdf
Note that the induced voltage drops off substantially with height of burst and distance from ground zero.
E3 is the component that could potentially take down the grid for months to years (by frying large transformers), but again that would take one or more very large weapon(s).