As an electrical engineer, specialized in power systems, I strongly doubt a single nuclear explosion would be more than a localized event.
Remember also, that after WWII, a devastated, non-electric mainland China still had roughly 450 million people surviving—not richly, I agree—on approximately the same land mass as the US, without much electrification.
It would be rough for the first few months. Cars and trucks would be re-configured to work with old-style distributors. Generators would work, but would supply power to local areas with a damaged grid. It wouldn’t be the Dark Ages, but it would be a major disaster.
Hope you’re right. I’ve heard some pretty dire predictions of what could happen if the the nuke went off at a few hundred thousand feet.
I’m not qualified to say one way or the other, but some folks out there seem convinced.
Doood....that doesn’t make any sense. The article is about the electro-magnetic pulse of a nuclear detonation at altitude.
I agree. This is hysteria mongering.
Whoa! Who are you going to believe: rationality or post-apocalyptic Hollywood?
Even as a non-electrical engineer, I have heard EMP studies state that effects will be local, and those effects will vary widely.
Sorry Points-n-Condenser Man, you will not lead the defunct electronic ignition masses from your cherry '67 GTO into some Mad Max fantasy.
However - a certain 'missing' plane, complete with 20+ Chinese scientists who developed a radar-proof clocking devise for airplanes, and a cargo hold of equipment - could deliver an EMP over a strategic target, creating panic and the reason for immediate 'Martial Law" - putting the usurpers in the WH in total charge for 6 months, enough time to totally take over the country...while turning loose their 'private army' now trained to shoot dogs and people at will, from children to old ladies. That'll cut down on the population right quick.
You are correct that the direct effect would be localized. However, what would be the secondary effect if all power went out in an area from Buffalo to Chicago? Would the rest of the U.S. Power grid try to compensate for the loss, taxing the grid to the point where other sites start to collapse, with a domino effect of taking the whole system down? Or would the grid have the intelligence to automatically break off the parts of the country that drop, preserving the integrity outside the primary area?
I'm asking if this is possible, because I don't have the background in power systems to know.
Correct .. it would take 3 explosions.
However, I'm sure there are must simpler ways to topple our house of cards.
Another question is how this nation will react to an EMP considering that it has hidden nuclear subs with ICBMs.
Will it retaliate or just write angry letters?