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I first read about this in Popular Mechanics. They make it sound more dire. From the Sep. 2001 issue. E-Bomb In the blink of an eye, electromagnetic bombs could throw civilization back 200 years. And terrorists can build them for $400. BY JIM WILSON Lead illustration by Edwin Herder The next Pearl Harbor will not announce itself with a searing flash of nuclear light or with the plaintive wails of those dying of Ebola or its genetically engineered twin. You will hear a sharp crack in the distance. By the time you mistakenly identify this sound as an innocent clap of thunder, the civilized world will have become unhinged. Fluorescent lights and television sets will glow eerily bright, despite being turned off. The aroma of ozone mixed with smoldering plastic will seep from outlet covers as electric wires arc and telephone lines melt. Your Palm Pilot and MP3 player will feel warm to the touch, their batteries overloaded. Your computer, and every bit of data on it, will be toast. And then you will notice that the world sounds different too. The background music of civilization, the whirl of internal-combustion engines, will have stopped. Save a few diesels, engines will never start again. You, however, will remain unharmed, as you find yourself thrust backward 200 years, to a time when electricity meant a lightning bolt fracturing the night sky. This is not a hypothetical, son-of-Y2K scenario. It is a realistic assessment of the damage the Pentagon believes could be inflicted by a new generation of weapons--E-bombs.

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I copy then stash those articles - too many of them disappear if they become too revealing! ??

http://www.gohotsprings.com/focus/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=61

ORIGINAL Popular Mechaninc Article at:

http://popularmechanics.com/science/military/2001/9/e-bomb/print.phtml