Please get into “E1, E2 and E3”
Here ya go - E1, E2, E3 EMP sorta explained ...
E1 is the 21st century technology killer/ disruptor
The E1 pulse is the very fast component of nuclear EMP; fast really meaning the voltages rise REALLY fast – in the nanosecond range, so normal pulse/surge protectors cannot response in time. In theory E1 kills 99% of the deployed surge protectors leaving the technology open to MORE damage from the E2 pulse that follows shortly after E1 in a HEMP event.
E1 induces very high voltages in electrical conductors and components, so high it ‘fries’ them. Solid state electronics are NOT considered repairable except by replacing the damaged components. E1 is produced when gamma radiation from the nuclear detonation ionizes (strips electrons from) atoms in the upper atmosphere. This is known as the Compton effect and the resulting current is called the “Compton current”.
E2 – the super lightning
Gamma rays from the nuclear explosion also induce the E2 pulse– which is analogous to how lightning damages electronics. This E2 component is an “intermediate time” pulse that, is projected to persist from about 1 microsecond to 1 second after the explosion. E2 has many similarities to lightning, although lightning-induced E2 may be considerably larger than a nuclear E2. Because of the similarities and the widespread use of lightning protection technology, E2 is generally considered to be the easiest to protect against.
According to the United States EMP Commission, the main problem with E2 is the fact that it immediately follows E1, which may have damaged the devices that would normally protect against E2.
E3
The E3 component is very different from E1 and E2. E3 is a very slow pulse, lasting tens to hundreds of seconds. It is caused by the nuclear detonation’s temporary distortion of the Earth’s magnetic field. The E3 component has similarities to a geomagnetic storm caused by a solar flare.[23][24] Like a geomagnetic storm, E3 can produce geomagnetically induced currents in long electrical conductors, damaging components such as power line transformers.
Because of the similarity between solar-induced geomagnetic storms and nuclear E3, it has become common to refer to solar-induced geomagnetic storms as “solar EMP.” “Solar EMP”, however, does not include an E1 or E2 component.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse
http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/emp.htm
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32544.pdf