Civilization-ending disasters are numerous. Which one will be the one we face in the not-so-distant future. We will cover EMP wars and Coronal Mass Ejections from the sun and talk about how YOU can prepare to face these!
Show Notes:
EMP Definition
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also a transient electromagnetic disturbance (TED), is a brief burst of electromagnetic energy. Depending upon the source, the origin of an EMP can be natural or artificial, and can occur as an electromagnetic field, as an electric field, as a magnetic field, or as a conducted electric current. The electromagnetic interference caused by an EMP disrupts communications and damages electronic equipment; at higher levels of energy, an EMP, such as a lightning strike can physically damage objects such as buildings and aircraft. The management of EMP effects is a branch of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) engineering.
EMP weapons are designed to deliver the damaging effects of a high-energy EMP that will disrupt unprotected infrastructure in the country,[1] thus the employment of an EMP weapon against a country is the scenario of war most likely to collapse the functionality of the electrical network of the country.
Real World Case Scenarios and the reality of EMP attack
The problem with fear over electromagnetic weapons is that it forgets two simple facts. First, generating enough juice to cause a significant amount of damage is really hard. Second, a country dealing with busted electronics after an EMP assault is a country fighting a nuclear war.
However, we don’t know what the effects of an EMP might be. Studies conducted by both the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War produced dramatically different results every time.
EMP Events that have happened already
- Starfish Prime – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish_Prime
The Starfish test was one of five high-altitude tests grouped together as Operation Fishbowl within the larger Operation Dominic, a series of tests in 1962 begun in response to the Soviet announcement on August 30, 1961, that they would end a three-year moratorium on testing.
Starfish Prime caused an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that was far larger than expected, so much larger that it drove much of the instrumentation off scale, causing great difficulty in getting accurate measurements. The Starfish Prime electromagnetic pulse also made those effects known to the public by causing electrical damage in Hawaii, about 900 miles (1,450 km) away from the detonation point, knocking out about 300 streetlights, setting off numerous burglar alarms, and damaging a telephone company microwave link. The EMP damage to the microwave link shut down telephone calls from Kauai to the other Hawaiian islands.
- Carrington Event of 1859 – Solar storm that would have devastated the planet in modern times.
The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, peaking from 1 to 2 September 1859 during solar cycle 10. It created strong auroral displays that were reported globally and caused sparking and even fires in multiple telegraph stations. The geomagnetic storm was most likely the result of a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun colliding with Earth’s magnetosphere
Telegraph systems all over Europe and North America failed, in some cases giving telegraph operators electric shocks. Telegraph pylons threw sparks. Some telegraph operators could continue to send and receive messages despite having disconnected their power supplies.
Some telegraph lines seem to have been able to produce a sufficient geomagnetically induced current from the electromagnetic field to allow for continued communication with the telegraph operator power supplies switched off. The following conversation occurred between two operators of the American Telegraph Line between Boston and Portland, Maine, on the night of 2 September 1859 and reported in the Boston Traveler:
Boston operator (to Portland operator): “Please cut off your battery [power source] entirely for fifteen minutes.”
Portland operator: “Will do so. It is now disconnected.”
Boston: “Mine is disconnected, and we are working with the auroral current. How do you receive my writing?”
Portland: “Better than with our batteries on. – Current comes and goes gradually.”
Boston: “My current is very strong at times, and we can work better without the batteries, as the aurora seems to neutralize and augment our batteries alternately, making current too strong at times for our relay magnets. Suppose we work without batteries while we are affected by this trouble.”
Portland: “Very well. Shall I go ahead with business?”
Boston: “Yes. Go ahead.”
The conversation was carried on for around two hours using no battery power at all and working solely with the current induced by the aurora, and it was said that this was the first time on record that more than a word or two was transmitted in such manner
Aftermath
An EMP occurs when a nuclear bomb is detonated high above the atmosphere. Since there is nothing to absorb the explosion and convert the energy into blast energy, it all goes out in its original form, as electromagnetic energy. Hitting the atmosphere, that energy is actually amplified, speeding towards the surface of the earth.
Upon arrival at the earth’s surface, all of that electromagnetic energy is absorbed into electrical devices, the power grid and any metal it encounters. That which hits solid-state electronic devices overloads the circuitry, destroying it. Metal can protect those devices, having the effect of a Faraday Cage, but if the electronics are exposed, the EMP will hit them with a surge of power that is too much for them to handle.
The electricity that enters the power grid will flow along the wires, reaching transformers and substations. Many of them will also become fried by the high energy burst traveling through them. But some of the energy will get through. It will then overwhelm surge protectors, destroying any electronics that managed to survive the initial surge because of being protected by metal cases.
Riots and Looting plus government response
An EMP has occurred high over the United States from a nuclear explosion that is believed to have come from a missile from some unidentified ship and the entire electrical grid in America and parts of Canada is down.
Official United States government sources could not say when anyone in the United States would have electricity again. Experts say if the damage to electrical generation equipment and electronics is as severe as some officials fear it could take many months before electricity is restored in many parts of the United States. They say even if little damage was done to the electrical generation equipment it will still take weeks to get most of the grid back up.
Riots and looting are taking place in many cities and martial law is declared throughout the United States. The Department of Homeland Security has nationalized all local police forces and said that looters will be shot. Everyone but critical emergency responders are told to stay home. Americans will be given further instructions as to………….”
Electronics discussion
EMPs create surges in current and voltage in all electronic components. This means cell phones, televisions, radios, computers, cars, trains, and planes would all go down because of the computers built into these devices.
The electrical grid would be permanently fried so it would take months or years to get the power back on.
No power means no running water, no refrigeration, no A/C or heat, no lights, no communication, and no access to your funds in the bank. It would literally send us back to the stone-age, and most people would not know how to survive for more than a few days.
Consequences
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2019/ph241/rogers1/
A successful EMP attack on the U.S. could lead to a nationwide blackout of the electric power grid and a shutdown of critical infrastructure reliant on the grid, including, but not limited to, communications, transportation, food and water supply, and sanitation. Such a shutdown could last as long as a year, and without such critical infrastructure, a large fraction of the America could die from starvation, disease, or the effects of general societal collapse. Furthermore, in a worst-case scenario, all nuclear reactors in the affected region could be impacted, leading to as many as 60 meltdowns similar to Japan’s Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Disaster. Without off-site electricity, these reactors would be reliant on on-site systems to prevent a meltdown, which could also be compromised in the event of an EMP attack. Without both off-site and on-site power, the risk of radioactive contamination to the continental United State drastically increases, further compounding the damage done by the attack.
EMP and Human Body
The key to EMP and damage to the body is the duration of the pulse. A quick pulse would pass right through. Making an EMP attack probability to be unlikely to happen.
To cause damage would require a sustained magnetic field that is constantly increasing in magnitude, thus causing current flow for at least a few milliseconds. But then, this would no longer be a pulse.
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Surviving an EMP Event:
https://generatorwhiz.com/how-to-survive-an-emp-attack/
TOP 3 TIPS to survive an EMP are these:
1. Planning and protecting yourself and items from a solar flare.
2. Communications, power tools, appliances, and transportation will go down so what do you do?
3. When you are away from your home and these are lost, what’s your plan to get back to your safe zone and loved ones, as well as theirs.
Solar Panels and EMP:
https://www.superprepper.com/solar-panels-survive-an-emp-attack/
Depending on the strength of the electromagnetic pulse (EMP,) most solar panels would likely not be affected. However, the larger the solar array is, the more likely that there will be damage to the supporting equipment including the wiring, charge controller, and inverter.
The 3 Waves of an EMP
Electromagnetic pulses don’t destroy things physically as an explosion would. They’re pulses of magnetically charged energy that come in three waves that build on each other and cause system overloads. Wiring acts like a conductor that leads them straight to the heart of your circuitry; microchips are especially vulnerable. EMPs from a nuclear blast come in three waves. These waves are referred to as the E1, E2, and E3 waves.
The waves from a EMP attack on electronics
- E1 – The first pulse to strike is an E1 pulse. This is the most destructive force, which is equivalent to a jolt up to about 50,000 volts of electricity. It happens in a sudden burst of gamma radiation within seconds of a thermonuclear blast, saturating the air within its range. I’m talking about a tsunami of energy encircling ground zero within thousands of miles around.
- E2 – An E2 pulse is the second wave after an EMP and is the easiest to protect against. It can be experienced as the power in the average bolt of lightning, which can be withstood with the right protective measures in place. However, it will strike only after the initial blast of energy has hit and your grid is likely already destroyed.
- E3 – This is a slower moving pulse of energy, and last to strike after a nuclear detonation. The E3 electromagnetic pulse creates currents that are induced geomagnetically along extended wiring systems like telephone and power lines. As the charge travels, it fries everything it encounters along the way, including power grids and transformers. Smaller electronics without long transmission lines connected to them will likely survive this third and final wave, although at this point they were probably already destroyed by the previous waves