In apocalyptically-themed television shows, books, and
movies, many different scenarios to explain the collapse of
society and the end of the world have been imagined. Some of
the creators of these dark works of fiction have chosen to
center their doomsday storytelling around something called
an electromagnetic pulse, which causes its own particular
brand of mayhem by destroying the power grid along with most
of the electronic devices and systems upon which we have all
become so dependent. Without electricity and with its
computerized systems no longer able to function, the
implosion of society becomes all but inevitable, and the
chaos and destruction that follow are something straight out
of our worst nightmares of Armageddon.
Except in this instance, the nightmares are very much based
on reality. In fact, there are two different scenarios—one
related to natural events, the other to intentional human
action—under which an electromagnetic pulse could indeed
bring modern society crashing to the ground, and both are
considered likely to occur at some point by experts
who study the question.
Given the fact that the
electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, does
present a real danger to all of humankind, it is incumbent
upon all of us to learn as much as we can about the nature
of this threat.
What is an EMP?—The Basics
An electromagnetic pulse is a massive
atmospherically-conducted current of electricity that in
certain circumstances would be capable of destroying every
electrical power system, as well as every electric or
electronic device or appliance, within range of its point of
origin. The magnitude of the current involved, which is
created by the interaction between masses of charged
particles descending from above and our planet’s natural
magnetic field, would be so significant that it would
overwhelm any systems or circuits that draw or transmit
electricity, literally blowing them out or frying them from
the inside. EMPs originate in the upper atmosphere, and they
can strike suddenly, silently, and without warning.
Nuclear EMPs
As many people may already be aware,
one potential cause of an EMP is a nuclear explosion. In
order for a nuclear bomb to create an EMP, however, it must
be exploded in the earth’s atmosphere at a sufficient enough
height for the gamma rays it emits to interact with the
earth’s magnetic field. That’s why the bombs that were
dropped directly on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for example, did
not produce this kind of effect. One interesting fact about
nuclear-generated EMPs is that it does not take a
particularly powerful atomic bomb to create them; in fact,
small-to-medium sized nukes that use fissionable uranium are
more efficient at producing EMPs than hydrogen bombs or
other weapons with a high-megaton yield.
A 500-kiloton single-stage atomic bomb—a type of weapon that
has been in existence since the 1950s—exploded 300 miles
above the central United States could cause so much damage
to our
electric and electronic infrastructure that it would
all but destroy the nation’s economy in an instant. Even a
100-kiloton bomb, if exploded at the right altitude in the
right location, could cause the electrical grid to collapse
completely through a chain reaction of systemic failure. The
type of nuclear weapon we are talking about here is quite
primitive, relatively speaking, and all the world’s nuclear
powers, including Russia, China, North Korea, and Pakistan
already possess or are capable of manufacturing simple
weapons that would fall within the 100-500 kiloton range.
A sudden and unexpected nuclear attack, which could be
carried out with surprising ease through a missile launch
off the coast of the United States, would devastate power
generation facilities, their communications and control
systems, and power distribution equipment everywhere. The
large transformers that support the power grid would be
destroyed en masse, and because neither these transformers
nor the parts that would be needed to repair them are
manufactured in the U.S., replacing them in a short period
of time would be all but impossible. While some of the vital
information contained on computer hard drives would be
salvageable, the cost of recovering it would be prohibitive,
especially given the dire situation we would be facing in
the wake of such a catastrophic occurrence. A large
percentage of our automobiles, which now rely on complex
electronic micro-circuitry to function, would stop working,
and those living in colder climates would be left completely
without heat—and with no place else to go to find it.
While many nations would be capable of unleashing a
devastating EMP against their enemies through nuclear
attack, at least there is some hope that sanity will prevail
and this kind of event can be avoided. But unfortunately,
EMP by nuclear attack is not the only threat we are facing.
Nature is also capable of producing a powerful EMP, and the
reason we use the word “unfortunately” here is because this
type of pulse is not just a possibility, but an
inevitability.
Solar storms associated with cyclical spikes in sunspot
activity frequently result in an emission of a huge cloud of
charged particles from the surface of the sun, and when
these clouds strike the earth’s magnetic field the result,
just as with a nuclear explosion, is the creation of an
electric current that if large enough can cause serious
destructive effects. The disturbing thing here is that once
every 500 years on average the sun produces a solar storm so
violent that the geomagnetic effects it causes would be
strong enough to wipe out the electric grid in whatever part
of the earth it should happen to strike. The only reason we
have been protected from such an outcome so far is that
alternating current was only discovered by
Tesla a little
over 100 years ago.
The last of these solar superstorms occurred in 1859,
and while there was no electrical grid at the time, early
telegraph systems had already been installed and operators
reported extensive malfunctions and disruption in services.
The primary effect of the gigantic charged particle emission
associated with the 1859 geomagnetic storm was visual (as
spectacular aurora borealis displays), and while usually
confined to northern climes were seen all over the globe.
But if this storm had taken place in the present time things
would have been quite different—solar scientists agree that
if this storm had happened in 2011, the result would have
been a total breakdown in at least a part of our power grid.
There is one significant difference between the EMPs
produced by the sun and those created by nuclear weapons
blasts.
Nuclear explosions actually cause
three different types of electromagnetic pulses, each of
which has different characteristics, while solar storms
produce just one of these three varieties. The first type of
electromagnetic pulse that follows immediately after a
high-altitude nuclear detonation, usually referred to as E1,
is a very rapid and high density pulse that is generated by
the explosive force of the initial burst of charged
particles, which are thrown out at a super high velocity and
eventually collide and interact with the earth’s magnetic
field. It is this process that produces the first massive
electric current, and it is this powerful EMP that would be
responsible for frying the micro-circuitry that we find
inside of computers and other types of electronic devices
and systems. The second burst of energy after a nuclear
explosion, E2, is much less powerful than E1 and tends to
only cause localized damage. Because solar storms do not
produce E1 pulses in particular, such an event would not
have the same effect on electronic devices and systems that
an EMP generated by a nuclear attack would.
E3 is the type of pulse that nuclear and solar sources each
produce. The sheer force of the charged particle collisions
that precede E1 and E2 actually knocks the entire magnetic
field of our planet out of its normal position, like a pool
ball being struck by a cue ball. It then quickly snaps back
into place again, but this oscillation causes the release of
a long wavelength electric current that has a lifespan of up
to several minutes. After either a solar storm or a nuclear
attack, it is this kind of EMP that would overwhelm and
ultimately destroy the electrical grid over a wide
geographical area.
While there is no disputing the destructive impact the
largest solar superstorm would have on the power grid, and
consequently on society and the economy, it turns out that
even a smaller storm could have profoundly negative effects.
A few years ago,
a study commissioned from the scientific research firm
Metatech by multiple federal government agencies
calculated the effects of a once in 100 year type of
superstorm on the electrical grid, should the EMP generated
by such a storm hit the earth’s atmosphere over North
America. The study showed that a storm this size could cause
the failure of enough large transformers to lead to a total
or near total breakdown of the U.S. power grid, if its EMP
impacted the magnetic field over the northern part of tour
country. For your information,
the last one-in-100 year solar storm occurred in 1921,
which means that we are less than a decade away from the
arrival of the next one, assuming the normal historical
pattern holds.
Heeding the Warning
There are precautions that can be taken to protect both the
power grid and electronic devices against electromagnetic
pulses. In fact, just recently a company called Emprimus
developed a new powerful shielding system that could be used
to protect the largest transformers from damage caused by
sudden surges of power, even those that would follow an EMP.
Generally speaking, the knowledge of how to protect the grid
from EMP-related damage exists, as do the technical means to
make it happen; but not surprisingly, neither government nor
the large utility companies has done much of anything to
implement such protections, which of course cost money and
do not offer any immediate return on investment. Estimates
are that a severe solar geomagnetic event could cause up to
$2 trillion dollars of damage, and that it could take from
four to ten years for the country to recover completely
(assuming that it could do so at all). It has also been
estimated that installing the necessary equipment to protect
against a solar EMP-related calamity would cost the average
electricity consumer in the U.S. an extra 20 cents per year.
And yet, nothing is done.
Electronic devices would require some kind of protective box
or sleeve made from highly conductive metals like copper or
aluminum in order to survive the vicious blast of a
nuclear-based E1 current. The best way to protect computers
or other kinds of precious electronics would be through the
use of a
Faraday cage, which offers full shielding from stray
electric currents. Because of the effects that an EMP would
have on television, radio, and the Internet, the best way to
keep in contact with the outside world following a
catastrophe of this sort would be with a shortwave radio,
but this too would need to be kept inside a protective
enclosure beforehand to be saved from the destructive
effects of an E1 pulse.
The Price of Dependency
We have become so dependent on electricity and electronics
for our very survival that society would no longer be able
to withstand any disaster that took it off-line and
off-the-grid. Those who have already unplugged and are
living a self-sufficient lifestyle could be adequately
prepared for the effects of a solar-based EMP, as long as
they were relying on alternative energy to provide all their
power needs. Off-the-gridders who want to be prepared for
all contingencies, however, would be wise to begin
investigating the protective technologies that currently
exist to help shield electronic devices and home wiring
systems from the effects of E1 pulses, which would present a
threat to everyone if a nuclear attack should ever occur.
We do not know exactly when and where it will come; or if it
will come because of something that happens on the surface
of the sun, or because of actions taken by rogue nations and
reckless leaders. But the one thing we know for sure is that
an electromagnetic pulse is coming, and if we are
caught unaware and unprepared, in the end we will have no
one to blame but ourselves.
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