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Expert Warns: Civilian World Not Ready For Massive EMP-Caused Blackout
schwit1 (797399) writes "An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic energy strong enough to disable, and even destroy, nearby electronic devices. In the first few minutes of an EMP, nearly half a million people would die. That's the worst-case scenario that author William R. Forstchen estimated would be the result of an EMP on the electric grid. 'If you do a smart plan — the Congressional EMP Commission estimated that you could protect the whole country for about $2 billion,' Peter Vincent Pry, executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security and director of the U.S. Nuclear Strategy Forum, told Watchdog.org. 'That's what we give away in foreign aid to Pakistan every year.' He said the more officials plan, the lower the estimated cost gets. 'The problem is not the technology,' Pry said. 'We know how to protect against it. It's not the money, it doesn't cost that much. The problem is the politics. It always seems to be the politics that gets in the way.'"
I know it would vary based on the yield of the nuke and the relative shielding of the device, but let's say...
1) "Rogue" small-yield nuke detonated at ground-level (eg, snuck onto a shipping container or other similar delivery).
2) Standard-size ICBM delivered to target intended for ground destruction.
3) Standard sized ICBM delivered for maximum EMP yield.
Can you use a single nuke to EMP the entire continental US?
What kind of shielding is necessary to block EMPs? Is my TV in the top floor of my house junk but maybe my PC in the basement likely unaffected? Is there a shared risk from the electric grid?
If NBCCBSABCCNN are busy abusing their "Breaking News" banners and fauning over Michelle Obama's dress, then the alternatives are where you're going to hear about this stuff. In fact, The Blaze and Drudge have been linking to this stuff for a long time because for the people who actually care about this stuff this isn't news.
"Now, I doubt any of you would prefer a rolled up newspaper as a weapon against a dictator or a criminal intruder."
So I read the book that guy wrote and while it was entertaining and probably accurate, it still came off as advocating giving billions to defense contractors for some unspecified fix. The forward by Newt Gingrich kinda tipped me off.
Because of metal shielding and short wires, basic electronics 101 stuff here.
The EMP power required to take out a modern car's Ignition system and ECM would be so high that you would DIE from the radiation. Cars also are the single most noisy power environment so the ECM is already hardened from the 2000 mini EMPs per minute that are being created under the hood of the car as it drives down the road.
I have directly experienced an EMP that is 90,000 times greater than anything the SUN can create, it's called a direct lightning strike. several electronic systems were blown out like TV sets that were connected to an ANTENNA. but the car in the garage that was the closest to the EMP was just fine. Same with the motorcycle and the other car in the driveway. How close was the EMP? 8 feet from the garage, it split the tree in 1/2 and burned a track down the center of it.
But that is first hand experience, if you have any kind of electronics education you will also know that even a Nuclear bomb generated EMP will only affect systems that are interconnected by miles of wire. so yes, all the power grids will go down as well as all the telecommunications systems that are still wire based. There is a lot of bullshit floating around the internet about the EMP and how it is a super uber technology killer. it's not. and even if there was a chance of a really big one, it's trivial to protect equipment from them.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.