Japanese TV Shows Effect of 'E-Bomb' on Iraq TV! Link Provided to Video Stream

TBS TV Network, Tokyo (Translated) ^ | 27 March 2003 | TBS TV, Tokyo (Translated)

[AmericanInTokyo]

http://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newseye721821.html

Hurry. This may not last for long.

When you go to this URL [above], you will get a Japanese language page from TBS-TV, a major Japanese TV network with journalists in the Iraqi region.

You will then see a characterization drawing of an America "E-bomb" hitting its target, IRAQ TV, in Baghdad just yesterday.

Just below that drawing, on the upper right side, you will have four video streams to chose from (Real Audio and Windows).

Written below is a quick ("freepranslation") summary into English of the Japanese-language TBS report, aired just recently in Japan (not in US media to my knowledge, except perhaps CBS' mention earlier).

[AmericanInTokyo]

TBS-TV agrees with CBS-TV assessement that a new kind of weapon, an "E-bomb" was used on Iraqi TV.

Japanese reporters from TBS-TV were in their Amman, Jordan bureau monitoring Iraqi TV when the bomb hit. THE IRAQI TV SCREEN BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE ATTACK WAS CAUGHT ON VIDEO AND IS IN THE STREAM.

The Japanese TBS reporters showed why the USA wanted to hit this propaganda target of the enemy.

Japanese military specialists then said this was an E-bomb and gave further description. They described the effect of the e-bomb.

TBS engineering technicians recreated their own 'test' of an "e bomb", using a TV screen and a laptop, showing how TV/radio/telecom/computer systems are essentially 'fried'.

There is an excellent video depicting what such an attack does. This TBS video clip runs a little over 3.5 minutes. Even though in Japanese, it will be self explanatory.

Good bomb damage assessment material, IMHO. Have fun.

[ewing]

Almost as good as a MOAB!

[demosthenes the elder]

couldn't open the vid link. please archive it if you can, so we can get it from you later.

[finnman69]

good find

[Eva]

Thanks! For some reason their video always seems to be clearer than anything from the states, better quality. Maybe its because they offer a choice of high resolution.

[chance33_98]

The Electromagnetic Bomb - a Weapon of Electrical Mass Destruction In depth analysis of e-bomb (very detailed!)

[Bahbah]

That's neat. Fun watching the little tvs go dark.

[Paraclete]

Looks like Sony's greatest nightmare.

[Orangedog]

Since we're on the subject....

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. The first major test of an American electromagnetic bomb is scheduled for next year. Ultimately, the Army hopes to use E-bomb technology to explode artillery shells in midflight. The Navy wants to use the E-bomb's high-power microwave pulses to neutralize antiship missiles. And, the Air Force plans to equip its bombers, strike fighters, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles with E-bomb capabilities. When fielded, these will be among the most technologically sophisticated weapons the U.S. military establishment has ever built. There is, however, another part to the E-bomb story, one that military planners are reluctant to discuss. While American versions of these weapons are based on advanced technologies, terrorists could use a less expensive, low-tech approach to create the same destructive power. "Any nation with even a 1940s technology base could make them," says Carlo Kopp, an Australian-based expert on high-tech warfare. "The threat of E-bomb proliferation is very real." POPULAR MECHANICS estimates a basic weapon could be built for $400.

An Old Idea Made New The theory behind the E-bomb was proposed in 1925 by physicist Arthur H. Compton--not to build weapons, but to study atoms. Compton demonstrated that firing a stream of highly energetic photons into atoms that have a low atomic number causes them to eject a stream of electrons. Physics students know this phenomenon as the Compton Effect. It became a key tool in unlocking the secrets of the atom. Ironically, this nuclear research led to an unexpected demonstration of the power of the Compton Effect, and spawned a new type of weapon. In 1958, nuclear weapons designers ignited hydrogen bombs high over the Pacific Ocean. The detonations created bursts of gamma rays that, upon striking the oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere, released a tsunami of electrons that spread for hundreds of miles. Street lights were blown out in Hawaii and radio navigation was disrupted for 18 hours, as far away as Australia. The United States set out to learn how to "harden" electronics against this electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and develop EMP weapons. America has remained at the forefront of EMP weapons development. Although much of this work is classified, it's believed that current efforts are based on using high-temperature superconductors to create intense magnetic fields. What worries terrorism experts is an idea the United States studied but discarded--the Flux Compression Generator (FCG). A Poor Man's E-Bomb An FCG is an astoundingly simple weapon. It consists of an explosives-packed tube placed inside a slightly larger copper coil, as shown below. The instant before the chemical explosive is detonated, the coil is energized by a bank of capacitors, creating a magnetic field. The explosive charge detonates from the rear forward. As the tube flares outward it touches the edge of the coil, thereby creating a moving short circuit. "The propagating short has the effect of compressing the magnetic field while reducing the inductance of the stator [coil]," says Kopp. "The result is that FCGs will produce a ramping current pulse, which breaks before the final disintegration of the device. Published results suggest ramp times of tens of hundreds of microseconds and peak currents of tens of millions of amps." The pulse that emerges makes a lightning bolt seem like a flashbulb by comparison. An Air Force spokesman, who describes this effect as similar to a lightning strike, points out that electronics systems can be protected by placing them in metal enclosures called Faraday Cages that divert any impinging electromagnetic energy directly to the ground. Foreign military analysts say this reassuring explanation is incomplete. The India Connection The Indian military has studied FCG devices in detail because it fears that Pakistan, with which it has ongoing conflicts, might use E-bombs against the city of Bangalore, a sort of Indian Silicon Valley. An Indian Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis study of E-bombs points to two problems that have been largely overlooked by the West. The first is that very-high-frequency pulses, in the microwave range, can worm their way around vents in Faraday Cages. The second concern is known as the "late-time EMP effect," and may be the most worrisome aspect of FCG devices. It occurs in the 15 minutes after detonation. During this period, the EMP that surged through electrical systems creates localized magnetic fields. When these magnetic fields collapse, they cause electric surges to travel through the power and telecommunication infrastructure. This string-of-firecrackers effect means that terrorists would not have to drop their homemade E-bombs directly on the targets they wish to destroy. Heavily guarded sites, such as telephone switching centers and electronic funds-transfer exchanges, could be attacked through their electric and telecommunication connections. Knock out electric power, computers and telecommunication and you've destroyed the foundation of modern society. In the age of Third World-sponsored terrorism, the E-bomb is the great equalizer.

In the 1980s, the Air Force tested E-bombs that used cruise-missile delivery systems. PHOTO BY AVIATION WEEK & AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY To ignite an E-bomb, a starter current energizes the stator coil, creating a magnetic field. The explosion (A) expands the tube, short-circuiting the coil and compressing the magnetic field forward (B). The pulse is emitted (C) at high frequencies that defeat protective devices like Faraday Cages. ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOHN BATCHELOR

[Poohbah]

How was the E-Bomb able to fry the computer or the portable TV, but not even make the videocam recording this event hiccup in the slightest?

[coloradan]

Nightmare? Think of all the TV sets they can sell after one gets used! They probably provided covert funding for the weapons.

[b4its2late]

Thanks for the post. I kept thinking my screen was going to go out as I was watching the video......

[Maedhros]

w00t !!!!!!!!111!

[AmericanInTokyo]

Because they could be video taping in a location itself actually away from their test waves, and showing how the screen would go out on the TVs.

[Poohbah]

Maybe I'm not making myself clear.

This was, among other things, showing how DESKTOP computers lurched under E-Bomb attack.

But the TV camera in the same room with the computer didn't even flicker.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Excellent points.

Here is the website for TBS: www.tbs.co.jp On there, they have an English hot link.

There I believe you can find an email to their stations. Why don't you contact them and let us know their explanation. Thanks.

[mbynack]

It wasn't an E-bomb. First of all, the Pentagon said this morning that it wasn't an E-bomb. Second of all, the whole city would be dark and every transister within 50 miles would have been toasted. The broadcasts from Baghdad would all be off the air, and so would the radios of any folks we have in the city.

[justshe]

It wasn't an E-bomb. First of all, the Pentagon said this morning that it wasn't an E-bomb. Second of all, the whole city would be dark and every transister within 50 miles would have been toasted. The broadcasts from Baghdad would all be off the air, and so would the radios of any folks we have in the city.

---

Doesn't make for nearly as good a 'story' though, does it? Those pesky, pesky facts!

[jriemer]

AIT,

The interesting thing is that there's footage of a downed US drone with an Iraqi kid slapping his shoe on the wing. During the Iraqi TV station attack, we obviously wanted visual targeting confirmation all the way to detonation of the e-bomb even if that meant sacrificing one of our drones. We discounted any subsequent damage to innocent Iraqis that would resulted from a drone with fried flight control ciruits crashing as less important than going after the station.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Fine. Let's see how it plays out then; according to the Japanese communication analysts, who might know something about electronics, there assessment was that a electromagnetic wave bomb or bombs were utilized ('denji bakudan') in the attack.