So I’m an old guy. Why wasn’t any of this noticed during Hiroshima or any of the later nuclear tests? Is this a new Law of Physics that I don’t know about? EMPs were there with all of the nuclear tests. What am I missing or how am I being smoked?
It WAS noticed. The nuclear test on the Bikini Atoll took out traffic lights in Australia.
Why wasn’t any of this noticed during Hiroshima or any of the later nuclear tests?It's a well-known effect (LINK).
Both the U.S. and the Soviets experienced it with their space-based nuclear tests.
When a nuclear bomb is detonated in the atmosphere, the EMP effect generally has a shorter range than the blast, so it's irrelevant.
The EMP effect has been known since nuclear tests way back in the 50s.
It wasn’t a major cause for alarm as it would have been collateral damage of a total nuclear war with the USSR.
But now that threat has lessened considerably.
The new threat is kooks like Abajabbado in Iran and Kim Jong Un that have limited nuclear capability.
How could they deploy their limited arsenal to maximize the damage?
An EMP attack. Destroy the US or Britain’s infrastructure.
An EMP generated over the Central US could render us back into the horse and buggy days, complete with oil lamps.
The electromagnetic pulse could generate an electrical spike on wiring, circuit board(esp. low voltage IC chips) that would fry them.
Even the electronic controls in your car would go ..Poof.
Society would grind to a halt.
There are countermeasures. The Faraday cage the most prominent. But obviously you can’t put powerlines in a cage, etc.
> Why wasn’t any of this noticed during Hiroshima or any of the later nuclear tests?
The transistor hadn’t been invented yet.
Tube radios and electronics are fairly forgiving of EMP as are older automotive ignitions with points and condensers.
It’s all the solid state stuff we have that is sensitive to EMP.
As a former Nuclear Weapons Specialist, I will assert that most folks are concerned about the nuclear blast, flash, heat, and radiation.
EMP has always been there, but when you’re focused on avoiding or surviving those effects, you’re not too concerned about your radio not working.
Further, in the 50’s and 60’s, at the height of the nuclear fear, our cars and society we’re less susceptible to EMP, because we weren’t gadget and chip based.
Smaller nations realize they can’t overwhelm their opponents with a large scale nuclear attack, but they can cripple them with an EMP or two.