EMP blast - what would happen really?

Genome wrote:

Repeat to yourself: "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!" "It was only a movie!"

That wouldn't been an exciting action thriller ( US style ) then would it ? Suspension of disbelief is esential to enjoying Hollwood's best efforts.

Graham

No, I was talking about the voltage in wires(low resistance,high current, like in lightning(for a few miles of wire,millions of volts at currents of thousands of amps). The area that explosion hits, is much bigger than your thundercloud, and voltage and current is much worse. Its the voltage and the available current together causing damage. The sparks you talk about have only minute currents behind them. Another thing which is worse, is that events take 10 to 100 times as long as a lightning strike,so try to imagine lightning hitting everywhere at the same time,at energy levels a thousend times. Believe me , you want to be somewhere else,by preference at the other side of the planet. As somebody else said,at Hawaii the USA blew the powergrid, from hundreds of miles or more away,and that was not intended to happen,so conditions for EMP shock were not optimal.

I was wondering if the EMP is polarised ? well I assume it cant be unipolar, so what would determine the polarisation, maybe its randomly poilarised, otherwise if you were in the right axis you wouldnt be affected.

Colin =^.^=

The p*rn servers would be knocked out too. After a nuclear exchange, we would have to dedicate enormous resources towards the production of new p*rn to replace the old. If not enough performers volunteer, we may have to resort to conscription.

I may be wrong but....

I have a hard time beliving that an EMP pulse at 20 miles is worse than a lightning bolt at 100 feet. With simple design you can survive a lighting bolt at 100 feet. Cars do it all the itme.

If the EMP pulse is closer than 20 miles, the EMP is the least of your problems.

Mark

EMP is an invention of the same folks who brought you RoHS and Global Warming ;-)

...Jim Thompson

Read up the Hawaii example. It was more than 20 mi away !

Graham

It amuses me that electricity in the USA is still so widely delivered on poles ! Along with those pole pigs. I think we're a bit odd here ( in my road ) having phone lines coming off poles still. Well... one of mine does.

Graham

On 14 Aug 2006 09:47:49 -0700, "tlbs101" Gave us:

The secondary of the ignition coil... Will pop-a-wire.

On 14 Aug 2006 09:54:41 -0700, cs snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com Gave us:

Excellent post.

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:04:12 +0100, Eeyore Gave us:

What classification do you fall into?

On 14 Aug 2006 10:20:14 -0700, "AndyS" Gave us:

At least now we all know what you do with your computer, Andy.

On 14 Aug 2006 15:07:56 -0700, "almo" Gave us:

AGAIN, LIGHT IS NOT the only thing such an event releases.

A very large MAGNETIC PULSE, which is quite capable of moving electrons in ANY conductor it encounters as it passes by. Said motion can be at such an excited level and rate that catastrophic damage can occur in delicate devices.

An ESD event can "burn" a single p/n junction and render a chip useless, or set one up for an early failure.

An EM Pulse can induce flows that can "burn" a p/n junction in much the same manner.. a rush of current.

I have seen chips that were accidentally made with a missing mask layer. After up to 800 hours of operation in the field, and as little as 30 hrs, they would gather charge inside, and since they were audio chips, one could notably hear the baseline static noise go up in the chip. We had to change out 250,000 installed devices Good thing they were only 64 pin J lead chips. Some had to be pulled from customer set tops. The chip maker likely lost over $10M paying for the fix. Not really related, but illustrative of the vulnerability of such devices.

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 22:28:52 GMT, "Michael A. Terrell" Gave us:

Sometimes, you are only a troll f*ck. You know better than that dumb shit, dumbshit!

On Tue, 15 Aug 2006 00:53:02 GMT, "colin" Gave us:

Of course it is. It is a singular pulse.

Trust me, at this magnitude all conductors it goes through will be affected.

On 14 Aug 2006 19:22:23 -0700, "Mark" Gave us:

Cars are diverting an single electron flow that is happy to go right to ground. An EM Pulse passes right through entire planets.

It's all about magnitude.

On 14 Aug 2006 19:22:23 -0700, "Mark" Gave us:

Very true. If the source is what you infer.

There are other ways to form a pulse, albeit on a much smaller scale.

(SNIP what an EMP can do)

If this pulse is going to travel through open air or space for many miles, it will consist of electromagnetic radiation, which consists of photons whether or not the electromagnetic radiation has spectral content in the visible light range.

- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)