EMP

Google is you freind.

--------------------
Ever find this beachboys record at a pawn shop for 2 dollars, then you buy it, only to remember you don''t like the beachboys?

The jist of it is an electromagnetic pulse is a rapidly expanding magnetic field (and an electric field orthagonal to it) that travels through space like an immensely powerful radio waves. Now, when you have a magnetic field past a conductor (such as a wire), a current is generated (generator principle). The moving magnetic field creates a current in any conductor (house wiring, computer circuits, whatever) in the order of Megaamps; that is, millions of amps. For reference, stick a fork in a plugin. That''s 15 amps. You can see why this would fry pretty much anything with an electric circuit. The other neat thing is this current would travel along power and phone lines; you could hit a city without being anywhere near it.

Interestingly, there was an article in Popular Mechanics a while ago (which is where I got the info) about how it could be possible to build a crude EM bomb for approx. $400 US, using parts available at any electrical supply company, and only needing the basic knowledge of any Electrical Engineering graduate. The ironic part of the whole story is that the issue was 09/2001 (remember that magazines come out before their month of issue). Boy, did they get some nasty letters over that one...

AFAIK, EMP only disables electronic circuits.

I wonder when we''ll have portable EMP guns (like in System Shock 2) to use on speeding cars. Pedestrian deaths would reduce severely.

Resist everyone

Ok first of all I know *nothing* about EMP''s apart from they can disable electronic stuff. So couldn''t they use an EMP to disable bombs. Wouldn''t it be able to knock out all the booby traps etc so all they have to is remove the explosive from the device? Or would the EMP possible set off the bomb?

That probably all depends on how the bomb is wired. I''m sure it''s possible to wire it in such a way that an EMP would actually set it off, but that would probably be considerably more complicated than not doing so.

I am not a bomb specialist, but explosives such a C4 detonate when a powerful electrical current passes through it. An EMP wave could generate enough current in the wiring of any bomb that it could cause it to detonate.

But if you don't believe me, give it a try

EDIT: Speling

LibGDN - By developers, for developers

[edited by - Programmer One on November 1, 2002 7:53:37 PM]

quote:

---

Original post by Programmer One
EDIT: Speling

---

Indeed.

quote:

---

Original post by Ravuya
AFAIK, EMP only disables electronic circuits.

I wonder when we''ll have portable EMP guns (like in System Shock 2) to use on speeding cars. Pedestrian deaths would reduce severely.

---

Traffic accidents are caused by bad drivers not fast drivers.
Also, it depends on where you cross the street as to who holds the blame for a steel-to-flesh accident. If you cross at a crosswalk, the pedestrian has the right-of-way and motorists from both directions of travel must yield to anyone standing at the crosswalk. However, if you choose to cross at a place other than a crosswalk, that is jay-walking, you assume the risk and will be at fault for failure to yield the right-of-way to the vehicles on the road.

Here is the popular mechanics article someone refered too above. It''s a bit naive in general, but it explains how a home-made EMP bomb works.

Everyone here has seen GoldenEye, right? Thats the most plausible use of an EMP that is currently available with todays technology, and I believe, something that has been researched.

As regards the safeguarding of military equipment, while that may be the case, civilian equipment will still be down. TMK, there are no or few civilian power suppliers capable of withstanding an EMP attack. The internet is wholly unprotected apart from maybe a few servers in DC, Langley and Britain, which are useless without the necessary backbone infrastructure that is the civilian telecoms network (ok, maybe the possibility of satalite connections, but a satellite is a much easier target to hit than an entire continent!). The mass hysteria alone from plunging a cities of even a countries civilian population back into the dark ages would make any government reconsider a war.

---

If at first you don''t succeed, call it version 1.0

SketchSoft | SketchNews

---

I think I started grinning like an idiot when the EMP went off in Cryptonomicon. And I couldn''t share it with anyone, because they wouldn''t understand my glee over such an idea.

-Ryan "Run_The_Shadows"
-Run_The_Shadows@excite.com
-The Navidson Record! The best film you''ll never see!

quote:

---

Original post by Yann L
Here is the popular mechanics article someone refered too above. It''s a bit naive in general, but it explains how a home-made EMP bomb works.

---

Verrrryyyy interesting...

*begins to stroke chin and stare at collage admins office, grinning manically*

---

If at first you don''t succeed, call it version 1.0

SketchSoft | SketchNews

---

Yea. Makes me seriously consider blowing $400 to ''take care of'' the miserable SOB''s who make it a top priority to sit in the Burger King parking lot across from my house, blasting their car stereos at 3am. I''ve wanted to do that for a really long time now. Fortunately, they haven''t been back in a while.