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Sarge —

the NYT almost gets it right but doesn’t. See the excerpt below:

“protect equipment against an electromagnetic pulse, which could come from solar activity or be caused by small nuclear weapons exploded at low altitude, frying crucial components.

An attack using an electromagnetic pulse is laid out in extensive detail in the novel “One Second After,” published in 2009 and endorsed by Newt Gingrich. In another novel, “Gridlock,” published this summer and co-written by Byron L. Dorgan, the former senator from North Dakota, a rogue Russian agent working for Venezuela and Iran helps hackers threaten the grid. In the preface, Mr. Dorgan says such an attack could cause 10,000 times as much devastation as the terrorists’ strikes on Sept. 11, 2001.”

The article speaks of a nuclear detonation at *low* altitudes generating EMP that damages the grid. Wrong mostly, but right (see SREMP below). HIGH altitude 40+ KM is the best method. The bad guys have to get it up there, but the most modeled EMP attack is high altitude.

Refer to this article http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/emp.htm and how the most damaging pulse - the HEMP - is generated via the Compton effect induced by a high-altitude burst. A low altitude burst does indeed produce a powerful EMP, called Source Region Electro-magnetic Pulse [SREMP], which is powerful locally, but the extent and permanence of the damage pales in comparison to a high altitude 40 - 40 KM) HEMP.

There are two pulses generated (some prefer to describe 3 pulses, E1-3, but E2 is akin to lightning in its effects and is not anticipated to act as a killer pulse) by nuclear EMP - the HEMP is VERY short duration, with nanosecond rises in voltage/induced current, and lasts about a millisecond. THIS (E1) is what fries the digital circuits of the modern era. The second pulse (E3) is longer duration and induces powerful voltages/currents in the long ‘antennae’ of the power grid, rail lines, etc. Together the two are electronically and even physically disabling to electronic and electrical infrastructure.

Furthermore, solar wind EMPs should only generate the ‘long wave’ EMP, (E3 and perhaps some E2) and pose little threat to any unplugged and moderately shielded electrical/electronic gizmos. One can easily protect your stuff from a solar storm EMP, and we should have days if not plenty of hours to prepare.

One Second After is of course more of a SOCIAL essay/novel - ‘lord of the Flies’ in the 21st century on a large scale. Gridlock is more about thwarting a different attack vector. The outcome is the same — a failure of civility within 9 days.

The higher you go, the less damage is done. It would take large numbers of these EMP’s to knock out the grid. The Soviet Union tested it on their own people.

Terrorists hitting power substations or embedded viruses is more likely. California is particularly vulnerable.

You are right. The higher the nuclear blast happens, the wider is the area affected and it doesn’t take a massive nuclear blast for it to happen.

I just finished the book “One Second After”. A real page turner- could not put the book down. It really made me think what we would need should we be without power for extensive period of time. What items would be valuable for trade...for food, for ammo, medicine, etc. In the book, they talk about “hardening the infrastructure against EMP” attack..that no one did this, every administration passed the buck...

Great book....get a chance..read it.