Posted on 11/30/2017 8:37:26 AM PST by SeekAndFind
This is why North Korea’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile is so important. North Korea had test fired a total of 22 missiles so far this year, but this latest one showed that nobody on the globe is out of their reach. In fact, General Mattis is now admitting that “North Korea can basically threaten everywhere in the world”, and that includes the entire continental United States. In addition to hitting individual cities with nukes, there is also the possibility that someday North Korea could try to take down the entire country with an EMP attack. If the North Koreans detonated a single nuclear warhead several hundred miles above the center of the country, it would destroy the power grid and fry electronics from coast to coast.
I would like you to think about what that would mean for a few moments. Suddenly there would be no power at home, at work or at school. Since nearly all of our vehicles rely on computerized systems, you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere and nobody would be able to get to you. And you wouldn’t be able to contact anyone because all phones would be dead. Basically, pretty much everything electronic would be dead. I am talking about computers, televisions, GPS devices, ATMs, heating and cooling systems, refrigerators, credit card readers, gas pumps, cash registers, hospital equipment, traffic lights, etc.
For the first couple of days life would continue somewhat normally, but then people would soon start to realize that the power isn’t coming back on and panic would begin to erupt.
The intercontinental ballistic missile that North Korea just launched traveled almost 1,000 kilometers and reached a maximum altitude of 4,500 kilometers. We have been told for decades that this would never be allowed to happen, but now it has happened…
This is concerning for one big reason: according to General Mattis, the North Korean ICBM “went higher, frankly, than any previous” and “North Korea can basically threaten everywhere in the world.” This was confirmed by North Korea missile analyst, Shea Cotton, who cited Allthingsnuclear author David Wright, and who told the BBC that the initial estimates of the ICBM test mean that North Korea can now reach New York and Washington DC.
If we had been working hard to develop our anti-missile technology all these years, this wouldn’t be a problem.
But at this point we are way behind the Russians in this regard, and there is a very real possibility that a missile launched by the North Koreans could make it through the very limited anti-missile defenses that we do have.
Once upon a time, discussions about a North Korean EMP threat were mostly hypothetical, but now that has completely changed. North Korea has clearly demonstrated that they are able to deliver such an attack, and last September Kim Jong Un publicly admitted that North Korea intended to develop this capability…
But most reporters missed a key threat that appeared at the bottom of Kim’s public statement, when he bragged that North Korea had harnessed “a multi-functional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack according to strategic goals.”
So now we know. Launching an electromagnetic pulse attacks against its enemies is one of North Korea’s strategic goals. And for North Korea, the United States is the top enemy.
And like I said earlier, all it would take would be a single well placed nuclear detonation to fry electronics from coast to coast. The following comes from the Daily Mail…
Theoretically, a sufficiently powerful bomb detonated at an altitude of 249 miles would wipe out all electronics in the US, save the southernmost top of Florida and the easternmost states – as well as affecting Canada and Mexico.
Without power, nothing would get distributed. That means that very rapidly there would be no food, no water and no medicine available in your community. An article posted by Fox News this week used the term “post-apocalyptic” to describe what we would be facing…
It all starts to sound very post-apocalyptic when you realize this means no lights or other electric-powered devices in homes and businesses, no water filtration, no regional food hubs, no transportation grid – none of the things we take for granted in modern civilization.
Like I stated earlier, things would be relatively fine for a few days, but then once everyone realizes that the power isn’t coming back on there would be chaos on a scale unlike anything we have ever seen before. The following comes from an article by Mac Slavo…
The first 24 – 48 hours after such an occurrence will lead to confusion among the general population as traditional news acquisition sources like television, radio and cell phone networks will be non-functional.
Within a matter of days, once people realize the power might not be coming back on and grocery store shelves start emptying, the entire system will begin to delve into chaos.
Within 30 days a mass die off will have begun as food supplies dwindle, looters and gangs turn to violent extremes, medicine can’t be restocked and water pump stations fail.
So what kind of a “mass die off” would we be talking about?
Well, some of the top experts in the field believe that “up to 90 percent of all Americans” could end up dead if the power outage lasted long enough…
William Graham, chairman of the former EMP commission and its former chief of staff, Peter Vincent Pry, warned the hearing that such an attack could “shut down the US electric power grid for an indefinite period, leading to the death within a year of up to 90 percent of all Americans.“
Others believe that the figure would be lower, but pretty much everyone agrees that the death toll would be in the millions.
This is one of our greatest strategic vulnerabilities, and our power grid could be hardened against an EMP attack for just a few billion dollars. This is something that I am pushing very hard for, but right now it is just not a priority for our leaders in Washington.
In fact, they have actually pulled funding from the commission that was looking into the EMP threat…
On Sept. 30, the Congressional Commission to Assess the Threat of Electromagnetic Pulse to the United States of America shut its doors after a failure to secure funding from Congress.
Sometimes I find it difficult to come up with the words to describe how incredibly foolish Congress is being.
An EMP attack is a greater threat than ever before, and yet Congress didn’t even want to come up with a little bit of funding for the commission that was working on a plan to protect us.
This is yet another example that shows that we need new leadership on Capitol Hill, because right now the people that we have “representing” us in Washington seem to be completely and utterly clueless about almost everything.
The problem is the Norks have no clue where their missiles will land. :-)
Ghetto people do not have the wherewithal to survive; we all know that. They have no skills and a poor work ethic, and thus cannot even support themselves with day labor.
But “country people”? They are not to be held on a pedestal. I know lots of white trash who live in rural areas, because I am related to them. They are pretty worthless too, and will pose the same threat as urban ghetto dwellers. Like the ghetto dwellers, they won’t be sitting at home quietly starving. No, they will go hunting humans and looting and raping and killing.
I propose we define it further: farmers and those who work the land will have an advantage. Even if they possess a little bit of leftover chemical fertilizer from the previous year, and the ability to put a tiny crop in the ground, that can give them and their family another year.
Folks with good organizational skills and who work well in a team will be more successful than the rebellious lone wolf who thinks he’s hot shit.
People who made the effort to learn survival skills will have a leg up on those that did not. I taught myself how to make water filters out of everyday items, and learned how to make and use activated charcoal for that purpose. It was pretty fun!
People who possess patience will be more successful than those who make rash decisions.
PS: I read that the last mass-produced non-electronic diesel is an early 1990’s Chevy Blazer, and all later models are electronically-controlled. That sucks!
No one else, anywhere, has done the math.
So, if you want a math-based perspective (gasp!) instead of wild-eyed thoughts from “The Internet” then let Free Republic be the first to show it off:
A 1 megaton blast at 200,000 km altitude (sweet spot in Ionosphere for EMP effects) would generate ~~ 4.2 *10^15 joules at that point which might translate to ~~ 6.5 Megawatts/200,000 meters on the surface directly beneath the blast, distributed horizon to horizon (~~ 1,200 miles of Earth surface in every direction) so electronics on the surface directly beneath the blast would see an electrical surge from the Hall effect of a magnetic wave passing through conductive surfaces/wire of about 324 watts/square meter.
Obviously the longer length of your wire (circuitry) that is exposed to the EMP the greater your total wattage from the surge will be in your circuit.
Telephone wires could easily spark. Your headlights/taillights might glow bright for a moment, perhaps even pop. Parallel circuits will be less taxed than series circuits.
...but the surge directly below the blast will be orders of magnitude greater than the final EMP that reaches the blast’s 1,200 mile horizon radius (1,931 Km).
Distance matters.
6.5 Megawatts divided by 1,931,000 meters means that the EMP on the end horizon of the blast is only ~~ 3.37 watts per square meter. Pretty much every circuit made can handle that “surge”.
324 watts/sq meter directly under a high-altitude Space EMP blast, trailing down to 3.37 watts/sq meter 1,200 miles horizontally away from the EMP blast.
A nuke in a parked truck in the middle of Manhattan could do some serious damage too.
should be at 200,000 meters not km
Yes, my numbers above would be at 100% efficiency which isn’t possible in the real world.
Max EMP surge felt on the ground directly beneath the blast will be less than my calculated 324 watts per square meter.
OK, here’s a wargame for y’all:
Missile bloom identified by satellite in DPRK. Two minutes into boost phase, destination is Kansas City.
Attack conference is called. POTUS is presented with the launch authorization codes.
No other inbound tracks.
Question one: Attack DPRK or wait. If attack, provide your attack scenario. If wait:
Warhead lands, explosive charges detonate, no nuclear explosion.
Question two: Warhead is a dud. Provide your response and rationale.
Alternate one: Nuclear detonation 10km west of KC, 8kT, 250 foot wide crater, 500 dead plus livestock, fallout to the NE x 150 miles. Provide your response and rationale.
Alternate two: Nuclear detonation in KC, 100kT, extensive destruction, 50K dead, 200K seriously injured. Provide your response and rationale.
Those giant “fuses” need to be of a specific type in order to respond quickly enough for a HEMP pulse. Most of those fuses are for longer duration pulses - not unlike one’s home fuses. HEMP generated pulses are very quick and these fuses won’t respond quickly enough to protect equipment
There ya go. That is the real concern. However, we do have sensor systems in place to track such a situation.
Kansas City was hit in the 80s you dope! See the missiles coming from the secret silos on the KU campus?! That's Ellsworth Hall in the background ;)
What is it with KCMO always getting nuked. LOL.....Seriesly, though, it IS a primary nuclear target. We build triggering mechanisms for nukes that we ship to Pantex form KCMO (former Richards Gabauer AFB area). Also, nearby is Whiteman AFB, with their estimated 100 B61 nukes.....or none in the WSA.
“The Day After” was a comedy compared to “Threads”.
How a NK attack could turn NORTH KOREA into a nuclear, radioactive wasteland that glows at night.
They try a nuclear attack on the US.
How does one refute nonsense?
Ducks come from Mars. Refute it. I’ll just keep adding endless nonsensical “facts” that add to the story...just like the Internet nerds and their EMP, as with any and all other conspiracy theories.
Ellsworth Hall, Lawrence KS. There is another frame that shows ICBMs launching from Allen Field House and Delta Delta Delta Sorority ;).....90s alum here. Most of my professors were extras in the 83 film. Dumb freshman believed there were secret missile fields around Lawrence.
Actually, many FReepers have nuclear backgrounds. We have command generals, engineers, technicians, missileers, sensor specialists, ANMCC, NMCC, etc.
No one has done the math? Really? You sure about that?
I think a quarantine and blockade of NK with nothing going in or out (except via the Chinese border) and a demand to hand over Little Fat Boy for a war crimes trial. You think there's at least a few NORKs with sense enough to not launch a first nuke strike. Very bad public relations blunder to the rest of the world.
I understand that there is much controversy about the actual ramifications of an EMP in the amount of damage that would occur.
But the scary thing about that book, isn’t the EMP attack, but the very realistic scenarios he paints of the breakdown of society should the power grid ever be taken out, no matter how it’s done.
Well, I’ll tell you, the Northeast Blackout of 2003 showed how easily power disruptions can cascade.
The power grid going down is NOT something to be taken lightly.
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