Name:	Shortbus -	Reply
Subject:	The purpose of the Space Force
Date:	2/7/2021 11:47:46 AM (updated 2/7/2021 11:48:20 AM)

https://www.newstarget.com/2021-02-03-russias-super-electromagnetic-pulse-weapon-could-destroy-us-grid.html

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	The purpose of the Space Force
Date:	2/7/2021 1:15:24 PM

High altitude EMP has been a concern for a long time, and it is even more of a concern when crazies like North Korea and Irn have or are develping nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them.  This is especially true in that the delivery platform (usually a ballistic missile) doesn't have to be particularly accurate - only to somewhere over the continent attacked - to do massive damage.

The article in Shortbus' link is all over the place regarding types of attacks, but the one true and frightening themre is the damage an EMP strike could cause.  About the only internal combusion engine that might run would be diesel, and that is only if you can get it started.  Because of the sophisticated electronics in automobiles all would be rendered as useful as a manhole cover.  Water supply would be limited to what you can find and pump by hand, as the water towers would soon empty because the pumps that refill them will be toast.  Without refineries and a means to deliver the product very soon the petroleum supply would vanish.

On an individual basis a family might be able to survive if meticulous planning is put in place and essential electronics are protected by a Faraday Cage that would block the EMP surge from frying the electronics inside.  A stockpile of food would be essential and on the brighter side most of the things you buy in a grocery store today will not be affected by the EMP.  That being said, one would need also to have a way to cook food, which means in the early stages after EMP having a propane stove/grill would help survive until essential services are restored (although one has to guess who would restore those services and how).

And for you gun control nuts out there, doubtless the family that prepares and can survive will need to protect its treasures from those who weren't prepared and are desperate due to starvation.  Each will be come an existentialist and the castle doctrine will prevail.  And the most efficient way to protect ones self is through the use of firearms.  In fact, firearms and ammunition will become far more valuable than gold, silver stock, bonds, and so forth.  I can easily see a box of .5.56 or .223 being traded for a case of Chef Boy-ar-dee spaghetti.

To this point responsible holders of nuclear weapons have shown restraint, especially knowing the nuclear defenses of other responsible holders would allow a return strike and damn near wipe out civilization as we know it.  NK and Iran, on the other hand, are new players and cause for concern.  

Name:	Shortbus -	Reply
Subject:	The purpose of the Space Force
Date:	2/7/2021 1:49:02 PM

With the extended gamma ray output nukes, about half the boom power is converted into a very narrow radio pulse. What I just realized is that if you bolt it onto a hypersonic delivery vehicle or park it in space, I'm not sure we can defend against it.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	The purpose of the Space Force
Date:	2/7/2021 2:35:43 PM

I agree with Hodja.  EMP is old news.  We've been vulnerable for years.  

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	The purpose of the Space Force
Date:	2/7/2021 2:58:30 PM

Scraping off the grey cells so that I can remember what I learned 40 years ago, EMP (at least as I know it) comes not from the direct radiation from the nuke itself.  That radiation excites atoms in the atmosphere and it is when they settle back into their normal state they emit a synchronous electronic wave, all the same frequency.  The reason it is done at high altitude is that the EMP from nuclear bursts at lower altitudes gets scattered and has a much lower earth signature.  Some of these details might be a little off (my wife says I am "a little off, lol) but that is basically it.  If such a phenomenon as direct EMP from a nuclear burst is now possible, it is indeed a new development.

Name:	Shortbus -	Reply
Subject:	The purpose of the Space Force
Date:	2/7/2021 3:56:28 PM

The gamma excites the atmoshere, correct.  More gamma, more pulse.