Serious, Unpublicized, Side Effects of an EMP Attack

Strategy Page ^ | 12/27/06

[jwparkerjr]

In today's world there is simply no limit to the number of ways our enemies can wreak havoc on us and our way of life. If we protect against EMP attack then we are still vulnerable to all the other kinds of attack.

The ONLY way to be certain our future is secure from attacks by those who wish us harm is do eliminate those who wish us harm. Anything else is worthless.

Fortunately for us the list of those who wish us harm and wish it intently enough to do something about it is a very short list.

Until we make it clear to anyone and everyone that protecting and securing our freedom and way of life will henceforth and forever more be the number one determinant in how we defend ourselves from perceived threats we will have to worry about every ship that enters our harbors, every aircraft that lands on our airports, etc. There is no way to eliminate individual attacks on more than a catch-as-catch-can basis.

If we are going to win this war, and it is a war, we will have to go after the Islamofascists like our lives depended on it. It will not make us popular around the world, but those who wish us harm have left us no choice.

At some point we are going to have to resign ourselves to "thinking outside the box." Things that we would NEVER have considered pre-9/11 are going to have to be on the table.

We will need to take into consideration the effect our actions are going to have on the "moderate" Arab street, but we need to serve notice this consideration is being push from its protected position near the top of the list to a spot way, way down the list.

We have no choice. It's this or it's over for us. The sooner we acknowledge this stark fact and begin to respond in terms that make it clear we're serious the more lives that will be saved over the long haul.

[Humble Servant]

"Both Navy and Air Force navigators are trained in celestial navigation. There is a section of the pentagon that is charged with devising methods to complete missions when everything goes wrong."

Glad to hear it. That's why I enjoy this site so much.

[taxed2death]

Not to mention all fuel injected auto's would be rendered useless. Makes one want to keep a cheapo carbureted dirt bike around...

[skepsel]

Womder if the field artillery still learns manual fire direction? Went to Ft. Stewart for an FDC course back in the 80s that was built around the then fairly new BUCS. We still had to learn to use charge sticks and firing tables and do manual met reports along with plotting everything on the chart tables, index lines, firing points, and safety T's. I always figured we's be SOL if the batteries died.

[A_perfect_lady]

I'm with you. Let's do it to them before they do it to us.

[July 4th]

What navigational aids would function in the event of a nuclear exchange sufficient to knock out big chunks of the GPS constellation?

Well, an accelerometer/inertial guidance system (entirely self contained) would work provided the electronics were shielded from the EMP, but of course you'd need some way to reference the distance traveled to your actual location. (manual entry of lat/longs?)

[July 4th]

Both Navy and Air Force navigators are trained in celestial navigation.

I took some ROTC courses at Wisconsin when I was there in the 1990s. They had an entire class on orienteering, mostly for land-based navigation, but it was old-school style stuff. Sun, moon, stars, compass, etc.

[DaGman]

"Then again, what's to prevent Iran or North Korea from setting off a nuke in low orbit, just to mess up everyone's satellites?"

How about they have to get it there first? And that will be a very long time.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

There are also non nuclear means of generating EMP, though the effects are not as wide spread as with a sub orbital nuke.

Correct. There's the quick and dirty method and then there's the surgical strike method.

[Crucis Country]

Last time I went up I used IFR---I follow roads.

Works for me. I do wonder if LORAN could be brought back...

[oneolcop]

It's fairly simple to prevent emp from destroying electronics. Note I did not say cheap. Grounding your car with a piece of steel or copper cable would do. Faraday cages work for small stuff as well.

"Faraday cages can be built to totally enclose sensitive equipment not in use. This subject is covered in more detail at this link for Faraday cages. In general, the equipment is placed in a metal or foil covered box, insulated on the inside, and preferably grounded. Exposed radios and similar equipment are extremely difficult to protect, particularly if they are plugged into a 110 volt household electric circuit. In that case, spare equipment stored in Faraday cages would be most advantageous. If the Faraday cages are sitting on a conductive surface, they should be grounded. Grounding is safer in any case, though. The second problem, long line accumulation of an EMP surge, requires isolation of equipment and proper grounding, so the EMP pulse has an easier path to earth than through the equipment. Ground rods should be driven down to wet earth, if at all possible, to provide a sufficient ground. That may mean an 8 foot ground rod, or even longer, depending upon your location."

Credit to End Times Report.

[RayChuang88]

I'm kind of skeptical about EMP from a 20 kT fission-style atomic bomb given the famous Dominic Starfish Prime nuclear test in 1962 that caused all that EMP required a 1.4 megaton nuclear warhead detonated at 248 miles up. A 20 kT warhead would have effects more like that of a X-class solar flare, and today's power grid are designed to quickly shrug off the effects of such solar flares.

[Sensei Ern]

Most Iowans know how to find North by using a standard(non-digital, non-electric watch. I do not fear EMP beyond the initial change. Oh, and the fact I won't be able to play my PS3.

[johnny7]

That would be a major setback to the Iranian nuclear weapons program, and the Iranian economy.

Trivial... as compared to what it would do here or in any western nation.

[houeto]

http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/emp.htm

[taxed2death]

"Faraday cages can be built to totally enclose sensitive equipment not in use."


UUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

Don't remind me!
In the early 80's I helped a good friend of mine build a Faraday cage out of his whole cellar for a recording studio. We lined the floors, walls and ceilings with thin copper sheeting and soldered it together, removed all the fluorescent lighting and replaced it with incandescent, we even lined the doors and the door jambs. whew!
what a job that was. I'll not volunteer for that one if ever asked again.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Trivial... as compared to what it would do here or in any western nation.

They're a lot closer to the Stone Age already. Not as far for them to fall.

[steve86]

Grounding your car with a piece of steel or copper cable would do.

That won't protect the ICs. The chips will be damaged internally, chassis grounded or not.

[SpaceBar]

In today's world there is simply no limit to the number of ways our enemies can wreak havoc on us and our way of life.

Look what a little fecal matter on some lettuce did.

[SauronOfMordor]

There are 24 of them, orbiting at 11K miles up. GPS fact sheet

Yes, we can orbit a few replacements (probably on much shorter notice than advertised if we militarily really need to). But there will be a period of time (pessimistically a few weeks, optimistically a few hours) where GPS is degraded significantly. And now everybody (from car drivers to airplanes and ships) use GPS