Posted on 09/09/2012 3:22:11 AM PDT by Eleutheria5
Israel might attack Iran by using electromagnetic impulses (EMP) that could cripple the country by shutting down its electronics and sending the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Age,” The London Sunday Times reported.
EMP causes non-lethal gamma energy to react with the magnetic field and produces a powerful electromagnetic shock wave that can destroy electronic devices, especially those used in Iran’s nuclear plants.
The shock wave would knock out Iran’s power grid and communications systems for transport and financial services, leading to economic collapse.
The “back to the Stone Age” tactic was proposed in the right-wing publication Israel National News by Joe Tuzara, a US writer who said signs that Iran was speeding up development of nuclear weapons should be met with a pre-emptive EMP strike.
The idea previously was published by Dr. Joe Tuzara in Arutz Sheva. A former clinical research-physician-general surgeon for Saudi Arabian, Philippine and American healthcare systems, he wrote, “The wild card is in Israel’s hand - with Electronic Magnetic Pulse (EMP) inscribed on it. If Israel chooses one of its Jericho III missiles to detonate a single EMP warhead at high altitude over north central Iran, there will be with no blast or radiation effects on the ground.”
He explained that one effect of the EMP attack would be that, “Iran’s uranium enrichment centrifuges in Fordo, Natanz and widely scattered elsewhere, would freeze for decades.”
The WorldNetDaily reported three weeks ago, “Israelis have not ruled out a Jericho III missile launch to detonate a single electromagnetic pulse warhead at high altitude over central Iran."
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(Excerpt) Read more at israelnationalnews.com ...
Forget about EMP. Just go for the population. You get EMP on top, like a bonus.
Sheesh. Does nobody know what a nuke *is* anymore?
“Things are never over enveloping though when it comes to EMP planning. A lot of devices will still survive, there will be gaps in field strengths ect.”
True....
“A small kiloton weapon won’t do it, and it would have to be placed just right. Think hundreds of kilotons. “
Actually, according to research an EMP is not so much dependent upon yield - 100kT doesn’t produce 10 x what a 10kT produces. The altitude required is 50km -> 400km which is more a factor of atmospheric density than anything else.
“The best emps for targeting iran will have to be multiple and localized targeting critical infrastructures with the expectation that these won’t be able to fry everything. They will be high speed inductor/capacitor saturation type devices which when they oversaturate and “break or snap”, they give off a very strong burst of low frequecy high amplitude magnetic energy over a localized defined area which declines squarely with distance.”
This won’t be the case. If you are already on the ground with the logistics to carry multiple of these types of devices, you may as well carry a conventional bomb and blow stuff up with it.
Thanks for the heads up/
Mostly yes, vacuum tubes are very “hard” when it comes to EMP type impulses, and even a momentary arc-over typically won’t cause permanent damage. In contrast, solid-state devices will fail permanently if the voltage limits (typically less than 1 volts) are exceeded.
EMP survivability depends on a number of factors, including the base technology “hardness” as you refer to, and others. For example, a solid state device like a tablet or laptop might survive if it were laying on the table by itself, but not if it had power, internet, or even an external monitor connected, as those interconnecting wires would act as “antennas” that would greatly increase the amount of energy coupled into the device. (The same reason you remember people disconnecting their TV sets from the outside antenna or not using the landline phones during lightning storms). The real target of EMP is not to kill every iPhone or Gameboy, but to disable the electrical grid, which present a massive “antenna” that unlike years ago, is now connected to and controlled by, computers having all the vulnerabilities of solid-state devices. When this trend began in the Cold War era, critical systems were hardened to give them at least a chance of withstanding and EM pulse, but nowadays it’s mostly COTS (commericial off-the-shelf) hardware. Of course, it’s very expensive to add EMP shielding and in normal times, no one (such as electrical utility ratepayers) wants to pay for it. If an attack ever happens anywhere on earth, those not directly affected will scramble to do so like we’ve never seen before in history.
EMP is science, not politics, yet every time the topic comes up on FR, it becomes an opportunity for some to demonstrate their ignorance. So thanks for an intelligent posting that elevates the discussion!
“...and sending the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Age,” ...”
But - as an Islamic Republic...it is by definition always in a stone age.
What a waste!
PS. Just watched Dr. Strangelove again last night - what a hoot.
Such an Attack would cripple much of Canada and Northern Mexico as well!
Which is part of the reason why I don’t hold with an emp attack per se over Iran. You can’t predict how things would go with too high of an EMP and too low and you might as well bomb stuff. Now an emp near transformers and hightension wires can cascade effects over hundreds of miles and knock out power systems...like a Solar flare might do. If an EMP is positioned to destroy sensitive stuff without damaging civilian structures near bye, that would be a useful tool. So yeah, I agree with you.
Israel would never do this. Millions would die in Tehran alone and Israel would be an international pariah. Moreover, it is likely that Iran has hardened facilities that could withstand such an attack. Our military has extensive infrastructures so equipped, as does Israel.
My brother builds electrically shielded rooms, mainly used to hold medical scanners (CAT, PET, etc.). They are also used as "bug-proof" rooms for the government.
They have been getting a lot of business lately from companies that want "emp-proof" rooms for their data centers.
Did you even bother to reas the article?
If is very obvious that as we are more "advanced" than the Iranians (hell, they can't even build their own cars, for crying out loud and without outside help, they would be living in the dark ages) and IF we could be brought to our knees (and our grids and systems as somewhat "hardened") then what do you think would happen to IRAN???
This is an even more dire threat now that a Muslim character has been added to the Green Lantern.
What would happen to the hospitals and the people that need medical aid, or the food supplies?
From 1941 up to 1976. A lot of the good Iranians migrated here at the time, leaving Iran behind with just the crappy, caveman ones.
No but because you asked, I did go back and look it over. I didn't see any new revelation concerning EMPs.
If is very obvious that as we are more "advanced" than the Iranians (hell, they can't even build their own cars, for crying out loud and without outside help, they would be living in the dark ages) and IF we could be brought to our knees (and our grids and systems as somewhat "hardened") then what do you think would happen to IRAN???
The Israelis would be concerned specifically with what happens to the Iranian nuclear program rather than what happens to Iran in general. Without too much difficulty, the Iranians could safeguard their nuclear program against an EMP.
” Zechariah 14:2-3, “
That is a distinct possiblity, I could be wrong but I don’t think we’re there yet. Your mileage may vary.
Sheesh. Does nobody know what a nuke *is* anymore?
NO, we’ve all retired.
Someone help me with this. From 1958-62 the USA did numerous high altitude nuclear tests (Trinity and Beyond) and while some shots over Johnston island did impact electrical circuits from Hawaii to New Zealand, there was no permanent damage. So what’s the difference between this Israeli threat and the USA tests?
Are you saying we’re basing all this on limited test data from 50 years ago? Surely we’ve done more high altitude nuclear tests between 1962 and 2012. (S)
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