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What I telling you in a nice way is that you are not knowledgeable on this subject and should not be spreading panic.

EMP is an effect caused by the ionizing radiation from a nuclear weapon induced from above the Earth's atmosphere. This effect was discovered during high-altitude tests in the 1960s (Bluegill and Bluegill Prime)). Balloons won't get to the altitudes required - in other words, outer space. The balloon required to get a ton-to-5 ton warhead up to the edge of space is gigantic and not that easy to build/launch/aim with any stealth of dependability.

Sending out an scare post is a bit irresponsible, don't you think?

I'll chalk you up as someone who has no worries about Iran developing a nuclear device, and their statement that they can get darn close to NYC.

Sorry to be a nervous nellie.

I think EMP is too overrated and we tend to turn it into something out of a 1970's era Irwin Allen disaster movie. If we got hit with EMP, most cars, even ones made post 1985 will start, most transistor radios will till work and even many electronic devices will survive. The real MacGuffin is the damage to our power generating and distribution system, even then, not all of it will be damaged, you might see "islanding" here and here, but since we all depend on it, it sucks to be you if you're power is out for a long time. Again, your car will still run, there is a 90/95 percent chance but unless you have a generator, a 12 volt pump or a hand pump, lotsa luck in getting fuel for it.

EMP is more like a 500 lbs gorilla than an 800 lbs one, but in some way, it can be overcome, albeit with some difficulty. As an amateur radio operator, this interests me a lot.