[DiogenesLamp]

A nuke on a ship in the Atlantic, fired by missile over/toward N. America, exploded 250 miles up, could ‘fry’ the grid for much of the Eastern US.

I'm familiar with the theory, but I am not convinced it is as serious as it's advocates claim. We used to explode nukes in space, and they never collapsed our electricity grid.

North Korea has barely gotten 20 kilotons out of their junk so far.

[doorgunner69]

Tell us what part of the continental US they were exploded over, and how much the power grid was computerized at the time?

[editor-surveyor]

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>> “We used to explode nukes in space, and they never collapsed our electricity grid.” <<

Correct, and they also were ignited on towers in Nevada.

But it is theoretically possible to design a weapon specifically for long wavelength pulses that might be different.

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[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

Starfish Prime resulted in damage to electric and electronic equipment in Hawaii, 900 miles away. Given that so much of our grid and electronics run on micro circuitry, these things would appear to be less robust in regards to EMPs, than 1962 Hawaii.

During the sabre rattling of the Cuban missile crisis, both the US and USSR engaged in high altitude nuclear testing. A Soviet 300kt 'shot' was exploded at 290km near Dzhezkazgan. The EMP fused 570 km of overhead telephone line, started a fire that burned down a power plant, and shut down 1,000-km of shallow-buried power cables. High altitude nuclear explosions also damage and destroy satellites as they travel through belts of radiation cause by the explosions.

Of course scientists have been able to study the results of these explosions and are likely able to 'fine tune' the explosions to have the desired effect. Maybe nuclear EMP weapons are overrated, but I am not keen to find out through personal experience, especially in a Canadian winter!