Electromagnetic Pulse: An Avoidable Disaster

GOPUSA ^ | January 4, 2005 | Paul M. Weyrich

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Damn, Race! You're really on it today!

[blackdog]

Policy discussions like this only serve to encourage rogue states to straw distribute nukes to non-state groups, thus muddling just who tossed it at us and our moral justification in a response. After all, it was Zarqawi who did it, not Syria. Liberals make a fuss over Abbu Ghrab and ladies underwear. More people die per capita in police custody in the United States than did prisoners of war in Iraq.

I can just hear Pelosi demanding a full investigation by the UN Security Council in identifying who really tossed a nuke at us before we "rush to war". Appearances can be deceiving she will spout off. Don't think for a second otherwise.

[Cobra64]

Underground fiber otpics......this would prevent any EMP attack from being sucessful.

Oh really? /sarcasm

[RaceBannon]

GOOGLE is your friend...

[Cobra64]

Assuming our guidance systems would work after an EMP attack.

[blackdog]

Roscoe Bartlett just happens to have Alliant Technologies and about twenty other EMP shelter/hardening/weapons defense companies inside his district, or very close by in Virginia. Don't think this is anything but returns on campaign contributions. At last analysis, a corporation gets a return of six hundred and twelve dollars for every dollar they spend on campaign contributions when spending more than $100,000.

Sure beats the market or securities investments.

[backhoe]

I want a simple emp device that will project a focused pulse from the rear of my car for, say, 200 feet. The cop comes up behind me and I flip the switch. I have daydreamed about such a thing since I first heard EMP can kill a cars ignition. There has got to be a way...

Have you considered bribing a Chinese electronics technician?

[Stashiu]

Well, liberals will fuss anyway. Let them fuss.

I could argue that our ability to minimize economic impact would be a plus all around.

However, as you further explained, I think that the enormity of trying to EMP proof the US economy would be incredible. In my opinion, a few so-called pre-emptive strikes would be cheaper and more effective.

Try to be patient with us. You obviously have thought more of this through because of your job content.

[BureaucratusMaximus]

OK...this may be a silly question...but I'd rather be informed than ignorant. What if we had a 30-60 warning of an incoming ICBM to explode over Chicago. Would electronics fry in my house if I shut off the main and would the electronics in my car be fried if I disconnected the battery cable to it. I thought that EMP damages things that have current running through it...the EM pulse would seek a power source and pummel it with "extra" protons (positive energy) thus shorting it out. Enquiring minds want to know.

[ravingnutter]

After he found that the Clinton Administration was ignoring the threat

Ignoring? He created the threat:

Clinton and his friends in China

In my search, I found another good technical article on EMP weapons:

America's Vulnerability to a Different Nuclear Threat: An Electromagnetic Pulse

[NJ_gent]

I agree that the threat's liklihood will be pumped up beyond reality, but I disagree with the idea that the threat itself isn't real. A nuclear strike on a modern US city would be completely devastating to the entire nation.

[BureaucratusMaximus]

30-60=30-60 minute warning...sorry.

[Podkayne]

That or build a lead shield around your house!

It was reported that Bill Gates encased his house in stainless steel and turned it into a virtual Gaussian Sphere.

[ColdSteelTalon]

That or build a lead shield around your house!

Actually its not lead for above ground buildings its something else...

[Paridel]

Underground fiber optics wouldn't really help us as much as you would think.

In the aftermath of a EMP what would prevent you from connecting to free republic would certainly be the lack of power from damage to our power grid. I'm not really afraid of that occurring, but fiber connecting the different communications systems would be useless without power and, more to the point, working communication systems to connect to the fiber.

As far as military communication that would probably be done with wide-band radio transmission.

-paridel

[blackdog]

Wanna chew on another shoe? Consider assuring design efficacy and quality assurance on EMP hardened infrastructure. Talk about weighing the odds between charging $20,000 for a $500 transformer and fleecing the public with almost zero chance of being held accountable because someone set off a nuclear bomb for Christ's Sake?

A simple three phase 400MHZ feed thru capacitor sold to the government for EMP hardened facilities servicing aircraft sells for about $1,200 each. A common, off the shelf critter of the same performance runs about $75. I think in most cases, just replacing a few dozen at $75 a copy on an item which begins to dielectrictaly deteriorate on it's own every 10,000 hours under load is a better option in the event of an EMP than to prepare for it at a 1000% inflated cost.

You techie diehards out there may want to consider a second option........Change FCC, UL, EU, and CISPR standards to phase in all devices be manufactured to withstand EMP, including your VCR, coffee pot, and automobile so that economy of scale makes EMP affordable and implemented over the lifetime of a few cycles of consumer goods. It could be done without a national dog and pony show in the house and senate.

[Paridel]

they generate protons that fry it

I believe you mean photons, not protons ;-)

But yes, it can be turned off and still be effected.

-paridel

[Quix]

Have long had a concern about this.

Interestingly, some prophetic types have "seen in the spirit" that we have a satellite which can direct something similar to any geographic area on the planet in a broad or narrow focus of resulting electronic devastation. Supposedly, we can neutralize a city or region at the push of a button at NORAD.

[Paridel]

Short answer, yes, they could still fry. However I believe that they would be safer turned off, and disconnecting your main and removing all of the plugs from your wall, maybe dragging your computer to the basement, would probably all help.

Also if you had 30 minutes warning you could take your radio, temporarily remove its antenna, grab some extra batteries and shove everything in a metal can and that would probably be more than enough protection.

the EM pulse would seek a power source and pummel it with "extra" protons (positive energy) thus shorting it out.

Like I stated about, I think what you mean is photon, not proton?

Basically all electromagnetic energy (light, radio waves, x-rays, etc) can only exists in certain amounts. That is it is quantized. A photon is the smallest amount of electromagnetic radiation that can exist. It is possible to have 2 photons worth of EM radiation, but not 1.5.

When we are dealing with EM radiation of relatively low frequencies, such as AM or FM radio, cell phones, or broadcast TV, it is convenient to think of it as a wave. However when we get to the far end of the electromagnetic spectrum, small-wavelength and very high in frequency, such as X-rays and Gamma rays, it is more convenient to think of the EM radiation as a particle rather than a wave. This is because its behavior is more easily modeled with a particle theory.

I can certainly understand where the concept of devices not getting damaged when they are turned off comes from. Most movies (for instance the matrix) certainly depict it working in that fashion. The reason I think they would be safer is that if the EM radiation isn't enough to permanently damage the circuits it could still mess mess with a logic gate, setting something high that shouldn't be, which could possibly make the device malfunction and cause damage. That is one of the major problems with non-radiation hardened processors in space, not permanent damage to the circuits, but invalid computations because gates get flipped.

-paridel

[dljordan]

What in the world could they do about it? A large percentage of those buffoons can't spell EMP. You don't even have to have a nuke blast for someone to disrupt communications with EMP. EMP generators are easy to build.