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EMP-Shielded Power Grids Under Development
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from MarketWatch:
"A one-megaton nuclear bomb detonated 250 miles over Kansas could cripple many modern electronic devices and systems in the continental US and take out the power grid for a long time. ... A solar storm similar to the one that occurred in 1859, which shorted out telegraph wires in the United States and Europe, could wreak havoc on electrical systems. Each of the above scenarios can create a powerful electromagnetic pulse that overloads electronic devices and systems.
IAN staff and Frostburg State University physics and engineering professor Hilkat Soysal are teaming — through a $165,000 project recently approved by the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program — to create renewable energy-powered, electromagnetic pulse (EMP)-protected microgrids that could provide electricity for critical infrastructure facilities in the event of a disaster."
Also available are an EMP threat assessment (PDF) written for the US Congress and an estimate of economic impact (PDF).
Not unless they are very very deep. Cables are usually more conductive than the ground. The EMP will continue deep into the ground, and will be picked up by cables like a several miles long antenna.
What do they teach kids in schools these days. Let me explain. The scenario is the detonation of a 1 megaton nuclear device at 250 miles. That's in space, btw. It would not directly kill a single person. When that happens the EMP field would actually cover the US and a good chunk of Canada, and parts of Mexico. Wait, he's gonna say that I'm full of crap.... proof: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_altitude_nuclear_explosion Look at the effects while you're there. And if you say that it can't happen.... You'll see that it already has been done.