# What would a constant low EMP do to electronics?



## AlmostHuman (Sep 6, 2016)

*What would a constant low power Electromagnetic Field do to electronics in its range?*

So I know a high power EMP would fry a lot of electronics, but those happen in bursts. I am wondering what a low, but constant Electromagnetic Field would do.

It's just a question that popped into my head while I was musing.


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## SittingElf (Feb 9, 2016)

Geez I get tired of all the EMP speculation!

VERY SIMPLE....FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS:

1. The Lights suddenly go out. Hmmm.... Look across the street...are their lights out too. - NO=Check your breaker box YES= GO TO THE NEXT STP

2. Check your cell phone for operation and make a blind call. If it works....It's a simple power failure. Wait for the power company to fix. If it's NOT working...GO TO THE NEXT STEP

3. Go to your late model car and attempt to start it. If it starts....It is still a MAJOR power failure that includes power to cell towers in the area. If it does NOT start.....GO TO THE NEXT STEP.

4. It is now SHTF time! Gather your family. Get your preps together and add whatever you can in a BIG hurry. Hunker down and prepare to survive. It is going to be a long haul.......

Easy peasy!


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## AlmostHuman (Sep 6, 2016)

SittingElf said:


> Geez I get tired of all the EMP speculation!
> 
> VERY SIMPLE....FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS:
> 
> ...


My question wasn't how to recognize an EMP. -.- Thanks though.


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## Targetshooter (Dec 4, 2015)

AlmostHuman said:


> So I know a high power EMP would fry a lot of electronics, but those happen in bursts. I am wondering what a low, but constant Electromagnetic Field would do.
> 
> It's just a question that popped into my head while I was musing.


have you done any reading on our past post on this subject ? do you know how to google ? I like your name you are using , if your almost human , what is the other part ? lmao


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## SittingElf (Feb 9, 2016)

The key word in EMP is "PULSE". There is no such thing as a constant "PULSE".... just as there is no such thing as a constant rifle shot.

Multiple pulses, maybe, but not practical....except in a Armageddon nuclear war when thousands of bombs are falling. If that should occur, GO TO THE NEXT STEP

---Collect your family. Sit in comfortable chairs. Place you heads between your knees. Kiss your ass goodbye!


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## AlmostHuman (Sep 6, 2016)

Targetshooter said:


> have you done any reading on our past post on this subject ? do you know how to google ? I like your name you are using , if your almost human , what is the other part ? lmao


Nope, I didn't spend a single second googling.

Anyways, my Username is AlmostHuman not PartiallyHuman. That simply means I am an incomplete Human as I have a few things missing that are needed to make me completely human. Well I don't want to get into that, so let get back on topic please.


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## SittingElf (Feb 9, 2016)

Will2!! Is that you????

We're a pretty easygoing and friendly group here. You might want to lighten up a bit, and not direct us on what we post, friend. It is also recommended that you do a search on topics you are interested in before starting a thread. That means the Search function. There are TONS of EMP threads here. Suggest you read them....many have very detailed and scientific data on EMP's and CME's.

Cheers


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## AnotherSOFSurvivor (Sep 7, 2016)

This again, young buck you're about to get slammed with a FTFSI and get hazed, until you puke and die.

Now - the logic in your question is methodologically flawed - an EMP means Electro-magnetic Pulse, the Webster's definition of this type of pulse is:
_2. a single vibration or short burst of sound, electric current, light, or other wave._

Once it becomes a Constant - a Stream, an Emitter, it ceases to be a pulse. Now - there is equipment, both electrical with certain signature and that use SHF/EHF RF waves such as certain satellites, certain waveforms of radios, or other constant transmitting radio equipment that will disrupt other wavelengths, and perhaps other electrical equipment - but they won't fry them like (in theory) an EMP would.

There has been studies on ELF/EHF (Extremely Low Freq/Extremely High Freq) transmissions and bursts that disrupt other things BESIDES electricity and magnetism - well, it still does, but in an organic sense. Migratory patterns, brain waves, hearts of various animals (and perhaps humans). Here are some of those:
- Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields disrupt magnetic alignment of ruminants
- Pineal melatonin level disruption in humans due to electromagnetic fields and ICNIRP limits. - PubMed - NCBI

It isn't the answer you're looking for because you posted an illogical question - but you can do reading on what different types of EMR does to people/things - in the explosives world we have a theory called HERO - Hazards of EMR (Electromag Radiation) on Ordnance, certain Prox/VT/ET (variable/electrical time) fuze devices, guidance packages and AD munitions can be negatively affected by EMR and will go off.

The idea of someone making an extremely large and amplified transmission device meant to subdue RF/EM behaviors in an area is laughably implausible - it wouldn't do what an EMP does, your radio comms would be screwed and you'd get a nasty dose of RF/Microwave radiation (depending on the chosen wavelength, harmonics, amplification, etc) but it wouldn't fry your car or appliances (well, not right away) like an EMP could.

What is your obsession with EMR/EMP? No one has been able to reliably recreate a NON-NUCLEAR, scaleable, rapidly-deployable EMP/EMP-like device. Even nuclear weapons and fission devices don't create a really novel EMP - it _"...results from secondary reactions occurring when the nuclear gamma radiation is absorbed in the air or ground. It differs from the usual radio waves in two important ways. First, it creates much higher electric field strengths. Whereas a radio signal might produce a thousandth of a volt or less in a receiving antenna, an EMP pulse might produce thousands of volts. Secondly, it is a single pulse of energy that disappears completely in a small fraction of a second"_

Electromagnetic Pulse | Effects of Nuclear Weapons | atomicarchive.com

Aside from that fact, NORAD, and our Giant-F'ing THAAD/PATRIOT and other Air Defense batteries around the world, and stationed/emplaced her CONUS would detect any nuclear strike and destroy it. To achieve the massive EMP effect you'd have to airburst a nuclear weapon FAR above the ground, making it even more easily detected by Radar and the naked eye.

ETA: the last link has some janky drawing that seems to suggest 500KM airburst would destroy most electronics CONUS - hope it's a big nuke, not sure how gamma radiation behaves, at that height you're in the F'ing EXOSPHERE - so not only do they have to have a MIRV/EV - they need a damn rocket to get it there.
http://www.albany.edu/faculty/rgk/atm101/structur.htm

I'd wager a guess that the atmosphere and ozone would absorb a ton of the gamma radiation and a lot of it would disperse into space either way.


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

There is no rf generator big enough to create what you are describing, the closest was built by Nicola Tesla, to power cities over a 100 years ago.

Nuclear fission or fusion alone has the power to generate an EMP and that pulse only last a millisecond, forget it.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

AnotherSOFSurvivor said:


> ...the last link has some janky drawing that seems to suggest 500KM airburst would destroy most electronics CONUS - hope it's a big nuke, not sure how gamma radiation behaves, at that height you're in the F'ing EXOSPHERE - so not only do they have to have a MIRV/EV - they need a damn rocket to get it there.
> 
> I'd wager a guess that the atmosphere and ozone would absorb a ton of the gamma radiation and a lot of it would disperse into space either way.


From what I've read, it doesn't have to be a particularly large yield weapon. What is more important is the construction of it. Since it is the gamma emission that causes the EMP when it hits the atmosphere, the most effective weapon is built with a lightweight casing that allows the maximum gamma to escape. Large weapons are usually cased in U-238 to increase explosive yield, and this absorbs the gamma.

And yes, the altitude is also important. Gamma hits the atmosphere by line-of-sight, so the higher the better for ground coverage. To get to 500 klicks you would need a rocket. One launched from a ship anchored off the US coast would get to altitude so quickly that it's questionable that it could be intercepted. Patriots aren't capable of that altitude anyway. Some Navy ships carry missiles that could do the job, if they were close enough to the launch.

There was a study done that a balloon lofted weapon could get high enough to cause an EMP capable of affecting the East coast of the US from New York to Washington DC. That's millions of people without power. I'm on the wrong computer to get the reference for this, I can get it later if you want.


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## AnotherSOFSurvivor (Sep 7, 2016)

sideKahr said:


> From what I've read, it doesn't have to be a particularly large yield weapon. What is more important is the construction of it. Since it is the gamma emission that causes the EMP when it hits the atmosphere, the most effective weapon is built with a lightweight casing that allows the maximum gamma to escape. Large weapons are usually cased in U-238 to increase explosive yield, and this absorbs the gamma.
> 
> And yes, the altitude is also important. Gamma hits the atmosphere by line-of-sight, so the higher the better for ground coverage. To get to 500 klicks you would need a rocket. One launched from a ship anchored off the US coast would get to altitude so quickly that it's questionable that it could be intercepted. Patriots aren't capable of that altitude anyway. Some Navy ships carry missiles that could do the job, if they were close enough to the launch.
> 
> There was a study done that a balloon lofted weapon could get high enough to cause an EMP capable of affecting the East coast of the US from New York to Washington DC. That's millions of people without power. I'm on the wrong computer to get the reference for this, I can get it later if you want.


That would be cool - I am by no means a SME on EMR/EMP Weapons - an air balloon/zeppelin would be a very low-cost, low-tech and novel solution. Damn I am kind of mad I didn't think of that.

I would still hope we would pick that up - I forgot how extensively weather balloons were used in the past for C4ISR purposes, you'd think we still scan for it.

Ultimate retrofitting of tech - a tactical nuclear weapon and firing system on a hot air balloon - I would be pretty impressed.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

AnotherSOFSurvivor said:


> ...Ultimate retrofitting of tech - a tactical nuclear weapon and firing system on a hot air balloon - I would be pretty impressed.


Not hot air - helium. Akin to Project Man High back in the 50's that sent Joe Kittinger above 99% of the atmosphere, where unbelievably, he bailed out. A balloon has to go really up there to cause an EMP, above 120,000 feet. But it's really not that hard to do, Red Bull sent a guy that high recently for publicity. It would be a lot easier to send one that was unmanned.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

As said, your question doesn't make much sense.
In an EMP, there are 3 distinct "phases" that happen after detonation.
The first is called the E1 component. This is the reaction of electrons in the atmosphere being struck by the tremendous gamma ray burst from the blast. These energy levels can reach 2 million electron volts immediately after detonation. By the time they reach the ground, they would be somewhere around 50K volts/meter (6.6 megawatts per square meter). This pulse hits earth about 10ns after the blast, and can last up to 20+ns. This is the part that knocks out fragile unprotected electronics.
The second is called the E2 component. This would be about the equivalent of a lightning strike, and would not produce much widespread damage, since the first pulse would have fried most of what this one would have.
The third is the... you guessed it, E3 component. This can last for several seconds, up to a few minutes IIRC, and would attack long lines of transmission, like long cables and antennas. The longer the run, the more potential energy it can hold, and the more damaging the pulse to anything connected to that line. This is where plugged in appliances could be affected, if they were not harmed by the first two pulse components.

The E1 part affects the upper atmosphere, and causes the air molecules to gain a negative charge. This ionizes the atmosphere for a time, and during that time, any additional detonations would NOT include an E1 component, since there would be no free electrons to transmit the energy toward the ground.

The E2 component, being similar to lightning, is something that *could* be maintained, in theory, by artificial means, but would require a serious amount of energy to sustain.

The E3 is only ever mimicked by solar storms, and would not be something a manmade contraption could sustain on any wide scale.

So, a sustained *anything* would be impractical at best, and impossible at worst.


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## AnotherSOFSurvivor (Sep 7, 2016)

sideKahr said:


> Not hot air - helium. Akin to Project Man High back in the 50's that sent Joe Kittinger above 99% of the atmosphere, where unbelievably, he bailed out. A balloon has to go really up there to cause an EMP, above 120,000 feet. But it's really not that hard to do, Red Bull sent a guy that high recently for publicity. It would be a lot easier to send one that was unmanned.


In theory and practice definitely doable, I just have a hard time believing that NORAD and other Alphabet Soup Agencies would not notice a non-state actor (or any other agile threat actors) float a helium balloon into the exosphere and set off a tactical nuclear device. It is scary to think how easy it is if we wanted to do it - granted we would do it to an underdeveloped nation like Syria which is pretty stupid, being underdeveloped what would we knock out? Like 2 CRT TVs and a Ham radio?


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

I think you all have adequately answered our new little friend. On to more important things like what is PartiallyHuman missing?


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

Slippy said:


> I think you all have adequately answered our new little friend. On to more important things like what is PartiallyHuman missing?


Ummmmmmmmm.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

Slippy said:


> I think you all have adequately answered our new little friend. On to more important things like what is PartiallyHuman missing?


Well, PartiallyHuman, and partially:
Un-human
Non-human
In-human
Ex-human
Super-human ?

We're a versatile species.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Give AlmostHuman a break. He probably just picked some EMP tid bits from this site and was asking what he thought was a reasonable question. We all had to learn about emp and it took a bit of time.


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## AlmostHuman (Sep 6, 2016)

Actually I was asking what effects an Electromagnetic Field would have on electronics within its range.


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## AnotherSOFSurvivor (Sep 7, 2016)

AlmostHuman said:


> Actually I was asking what effects an Electromagnetic Field would have on electronics within its range.


Dude, a bunch of the previous posters - myself included gave more than adequate information regarding that inquiry.

No one is going to break it down barney, as this is something that is real science with real theories - not how to turn on an Xbox. Read through the links I provided - Kauboy also gave an excellent in-scope and focused evaluation of what an EMP does - EMR is not far behind it, where a EMP will destroy unshielded electronics sustained, localized EMR will block out RF and if properly amplified may or may not short or otherwise disrupt other improperly grounded electrical systems and devices.


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## Coastie dad (Jan 2, 2016)

I don't like reading.
Could you just give me the answers for the test?
Better yet, could you just give me a copy of the test with the answers?


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

AlmostHuman said:


> Actually I was asking what effects an Electromagnetic Field would have on electronics within its range.


A short and fast explanation... EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse) is a super high voltage burst of energy created when an atomic bomb is set off above the earth's atmosphere and the effect of it's Gamma rays when they interact with earth's higher atmosphere creating this energy burst. It is a line of sight effect and 1 EMP bomb 200 miles up can affect half of the US.

It's generally agreed that the "pulse" of energy will burn out delicate electrical circuits making most things that have a circuit chip die. Electric power transmission lines are good EMP antennas and can send the super high energy surge into transformer stations and your house frying most electronics and killing the transformer stations. Because the pulse is so fast most fuses and circuit breakers will not be effective at protecting electronics.

Some people say most cars made after about 1975 will not run because of their computers. Others say most cars will survive. Read the book "One Second After" by William Forstein. Very scary EMP scenario.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

AlmostHuman said:


> Actually I was asking what effects an Electromagnetic Field would have on electronics within its range.


Any delicate circuitry, like a microprocessor, would be overloaded with more voltage than it was designed to ever handle, and fry. The EMP is a wave of free electrons hurtling toward the ground, looking for any conductor they can find to bind to. Any electrically conductive components that can't handle the excess electrons will burn out. Think of it like burning out a fuse, only instead of a fuse, it melts the CPU of every computer in the cone.


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