[TalonDJ]

Their opinion was that the threat of EMP is greatly exaggerated and it would take a massive attack to completely blackout the US.

And even then it would not blow up EVERY electrical device in the WHOLE country. Lots and lots of stuff would survive due to random chance and hardening. That book describes a situation as realistic as the Zombie Apocalypse.

[Black Agnes]

Imagine the disruption in big cities if only 25% of the infrastructure stopped working. Do you want to be near one of those cities when that happens?

What would such a scenario do for our ability to project a military presence around the world?

Imagine Chicago, the entire city, under boil water orders. With 25% of their big step down transformers blown. And those transformers all ‘Made in China’. Even if you put the order in right then it would be months before they got power restored.

I know people who lost power after Katrina. Their power went out on August 29, 2005. Their power didn’t come back on until the week before Christmas. The holdup for them was shortage of transformers. They were country people with a well, gardens and a food pantry. And an MRE distribution center in town. Imagine Chicago after that sort of thing.

[IMR 4350]

Just where do you plan on getting the electricity to run all of your electrical devices that managed to survive?

[kimtom]

“...That book describes a situation as realistic as the Zombie Apocalypse....”

Fiction.

It would only need to “black-out” a few key states. to put us in chaos. God have mercy on those unlucky ones.

But as yield size is important, height of detonation is more critical. The reaction of electrons in lighter atmosphere.....something like that.And curvature of earth, etc.