Posted on 12/14/2011 4:56:03 AM PST by Kaslin
It used to be the case that sensative equipement was hardened...but that is no longer the case. When I first got into the military back in the 80's...that was the case. It's not the case anymore.
It is also not the case that lighting applies more energy to the grid. Sure...at a very localized level it does...but not when you are talking about every power line across America acting as a conduit. Lightning will produce more voltage per meter than EMP (1 megavolt mer m2 vs 50K volts)...but less wattage (6 megawatts for EMP per m2...as opposed to 1 megawatt for lightning). But remember...with lightning...you are really only talking about an area the size of 1 sq meter. With EMP...you are talking about millions of square miles...all feeding into the large transformers.
The "grid" is composed of the whole system...not just wires and poles. That includes the tranformers...which is what is mostly in danger because the big ones have to be made to order. When a couple go out...you can work around the grid and find a fix...but when hundreds go out...you are in the dark.
The 1859, 1921 aqnd 2003 solar storms were just a small sample of what a full fledged EMP would be like. 1850 and 1921 had no grid or a loose grid to speak of. 2003 was a strong storm but not near as bad as 1859...and it did a lot of damage to the grid. An EMP would make these look like a Sunday picnic.
AGW's little sister? I don't think so.
Thank whatever, that the New York Times knows that there are no threats to the USA except for radical WASPs.
The Carrington event was much stronger than the 2003 Halloween Storms and would cause much more damage to the grid.
Have been beating that drum a long time.
Derision is still common.
Thanks for posting the truth.
It is not the total energy content that matters, it is WHERE that energy is spread in frequency/time.
The energy in a lightning strike is spread over more than 500 MICROseconds, an EMP distributes its energy over about a 1 MICROsecond timeframe ... and achieves its peak after a few NANOseconds.
An EMP also distributes its power over twice the bandwidth of a lightning strike.
I think the Ruby gal on youtube about the USA splitting into 3 parts is more or less accurate.
This EMP will be devastating . . . and part of a basket of horrifically devastating factors, events, crises, disasters
—quakes
—WWIII
—terrorist attacks with chemicals in our water etc.
—attacks on nuke generating plants
—volcanoes
—. . .
—. . .
One source given a lot of dreams and visions about China attacking decided he’d see how many Chinese restaurant staff/owners realized that in his local area in Virginia.
ALL of them did. 100%. They just don’t know when but consider it more or less likely at any time.
Actually, I think it will be primarily Russia et al on the East Coast.
The most infamous thing in the NYT article was the flip assrtion that, hey, we can just shoot down any missile over the United States.
Besides that being completely untrue, the NYT has spent decades ridiculing and impeding missile defense in every way imaginable. One of their favorites is to say there is no way on earth it can be effective.
Next to a full nuclear attack, EMP attacks are at the top of the list. EMP attacks have long been considered to be a key threat (since the 50s) and has always been a major threat factor in strategic nuclear planning. It would severely cripple the general economy and all non-hardened communication nodes, which is most every communication and electronic device we rely on day to day. Hope the journalist does not have a pacemaker because if there were an EMP event he would tach out.
I have a news flash for the NYT. NASA’s number 1 concern is an EMP. My fiancee’s nephew works as a high level consultant for NASA and he told us they are terrified we will experience an EMP.
The main threat to the grid is the large transformers which are vulnerable. They are not manufactured in the US and it takes about 2 years to get replacements. If we lose a certain percentage of the transformers a good portion of the country will be in the 1800’s for 4-10 years. We could lose over 70% of the population. Its very serious.
An EMP or a large solar flare would produce enough of a jolt to make lightening strikes look like child’s play. I used to sell surge suppression systems and we have one on our house. The average lightening strike on the power lines is about 3,000 volts. It takes 12,000 volts to fry my system. An EMP or solar flare would be significantly more intense than that. But again its the transformers that you have to worry about. Wires, circuit boxes etc could easily be replaced. We don’t have a bunch of extra transformers sitting around in a warehouse as backups.
NASA has put out several reports warning of the likelihood of an EMP. It only costs a couple hundred million to harden the system but the legislature has no intention of doing it. If we experience an EMP or a solar flare the only people that will be living with any modicum of normalcy will be those that have an alternative electrical system that is not tied to the grid. Everyone else will be in misery.
"The Missile Defense Agency, an arm of the Pentagon that maintains an arsenal of ground-based interceptors ready to fly into space and smash enemy warheads, says that defeating such an attack would be as straightforward as any other defense of the continental United States."
This is absolutely not true. There have been a few successful tests, but there is definitly no "arsenal of ground-based interceptors ready to fly into space and smash enemy warheads" that could knock out an ICBM.
I guess the guys at NYT didn’t see NCIS-LA last night....
“With EMP...you are talking about millions of square miles...all feeding into the large transformers. “
Millions of sq miles, huh?
From a single blast?
BS.
“The smaller storm of 2003 caused severe damage to the grid. Millions of people were without power across Canada, the northeast US and Europe.”
Where can I find info on that?
NYT would benefit from an EMP strike -— no Internet competition and they avoid bankruptcy.
William J. Broad
Thanks for the ping!
EMP is complete bull&hit. Nucellular explosions are PINT
He was projecting when he called Gingrich a loon
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