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I keep reading on how EMP is gonna fry everything that uses electricity and so on, but doing some research beyond wikipedia and looking at US Govt information, and older records of EMP tests.... it strikes me as odd that it seems to be only the "preppers" segment who are claiming that EMP events will turn any and all electronics into deadweight... the science just does not support that as far as my understanding goes.
Every living thing generates an electromagnetic field (EMF), and everything that uses electricity also generates such a field, only when electricity is passing through the stuff.
From what I can understand, the very best defense against EMP events would be to be totally unplugged, vehicle batteries disconnected, no electricity to effect.
A lightning strike itself produces an EMP, and you just don't hear about everything in a house being fried from a lightning strike, only the equipment that was on and not grounded.
Granted the unclassified tests information is from the 70s-80s, but it is still relevant, a simulated EMP did not fry all the test vehicles, and it was found that the ones turned off simply needed to be turned on again to be functional.
A nuclear blast is more deadly than the EMP it generates, due to the blast, and radiation, and not to the EMP itself.
A non-nuclear EMP is possible (see lightning strikes again), however to generate a pulse that is as deadly to electronics as has been suggested, would mean at least a magnitude of order greater than a super-bolt of lightning, and that is still in excess of the largest nuclear device's capacity to generate an EMP pulse.. but the size of the nuclear blast needed is basically a world-ender anyhow.
Govt electronics are hardened to a certain point, moreso than consumer stuff, yet the threat is still overblown IMO.
If someone can cite sources where the EMP pulse is conclusively more damaging than the nuclear blast itself, and has been reviewed for accuracy and is not from "prepper/doomsday/tinfoil" sites.. I'd like to read more on this.
Understand, my information is from unclassified tests/studies/ SDI papers which gives one a better impression of whats real threats and whats not proven.
Every living thing generates an electromagnetic field (EMF), and everything that uses electricity also generates such a field, only when electricity is passing through the stuff.
From what I can understand, the very best defense against EMP events would be to be totally unplugged, vehicle batteries disconnected, no electricity to effect.
A lightning strike itself produces an EMP, and you just don't hear about everything in a house being fried from a lightning strike, only the equipment that was on and not grounded.
Granted the unclassified tests information is from the 70s-80s, but it is still relevant, a simulated EMP did not fry all the test vehicles, and it was found that the ones turned off simply needed to be turned on again to be functional.
A nuclear blast is more deadly than the EMP it generates, due to the blast, and radiation, and not to the EMP itself.
A non-nuclear EMP is possible (see lightning strikes again), however to generate a pulse that is as deadly to electronics as has been suggested, would mean at least a magnitude of order greater than a super-bolt of lightning, and that is still in excess of the largest nuclear device's capacity to generate an EMP pulse.. but the size of the nuclear blast needed is basically a world-ender anyhow.
Govt electronics are hardened to a certain point, moreso than consumer stuff, yet the threat is still overblown IMO.
If someone can cite sources where the EMP pulse is conclusively more damaging than the nuclear blast itself, and has been reviewed for accuracy and is not from "prepper/doomsday/tinfoil" sites.. I'd like to read more on this.
Understand, my information is from unclassified tests/studies/ SDI papers which gives one a better impression of whats real threats and whats not proven.