Electromagnetic Pulse (4 page)

What if?

EMP: Electromagnetic Pulse

EMP: Electromagnetic Pulse
is a primer on the threats we face as a nation from an attack delivered by an Electromagnetic Pulse weapon. The constant barrage of cyber intrusions into the public and private sector have captured the news headlines in recent years, but it is time to refocus on the threat an EMP poses for our nation’s critical infrastructure.

Senator Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, began hearings in the summer of 2015 on the threat of an EMP detonation over the United States.

The witnesses included, among others; James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence, Joseph McClelland, Director of the Office of Energy Infrastructure Security at FERC, and Christopher Currie, Director of Homeland Security and Justice with the Government Accountability Office.

Their conclusion: The threat is real, and the need for the U.S. to prepare for this eventuality is critical. Chairman Johnson, in his opening remarks, stated that although the issue of EMP has been on the government radar for years, it has largely gone ignored. He pointed out the fact that not one of the suggestions put forward by the congressionally mandated EMP Commission, formed in 2002, has been put in place.

The science behind an electromagnetic pulse might be considered complicated and frightening to some. An EMP event can occur either naturally, (through solar flares, as discussed above) or artificially, as the result of a high-altitude nuclear explosion. The high-energy particles from such an explosion would cascade down to Earth, interacting with the planet’s magnetic field and destroying the electronic systems below. The resulting pulse of energy could destroy millions of transformers in America’s power grid, as the pulse travelled along transformer lines.

The possibility of man-made EMP events has grown in relation to the technological sophistication of America’s adversaries. It is a widely known fact, that both Russia and China already have this capability, and both countries have carried out serious work relating to the generation of EMP in recent years, as part of their respective military modernization programs.

Now, America’s enemies like Iran and North Korea may not be that far behind. Iran, for example, is known to have simulated a nuclear EMP attack several years ago, using short-range missiles launched from a freighter. In 2015, the Iranians fired a medium-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. North Korea, meanwhile, has acquired the blueprints to build an EMP warhead. In July of 2013, a North Korean freighter made it all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, through the Panama Canal, carrying two nuclear-capable missiles in the ship’s hold.

All of these countries have successfully orbited a number of satellites that could potentially evade U.S. early warning radars. The Strategic Defense Initiative, or Star Wars, as former President Ronald Reagan once called it, was widely panned as bizarre by political opponents and the mainstream media. Today, satellites carrying nuclear warheads are at the ideal altitude to generate an EMP across the entire continental US. Perhaps, President Reagan was right.

Scientists concur that such an attack, if it occurred, would have devastating consequences. A nuclear warhead detonated three hundred miles above St. Louis, Missouri, could collapse the entire nation's power grid. According to the EMP Commission, the recovery time from such a nationwide EMP event might be anywhere from one to ten years. In the meantime, ninety percent of Americans would likely die from starvation, disease, or societal collapse.

Are the threats of an EMP attack and Cyber Warfare mutually exclusive? Not necessarily. North Korea’s recent nuclear test and dictator Kim Jong Un’s claim that he has a hydrogen bomb, has shifted focus away from the cyber threat and onto EMP once again. Although the focus of attention has shifted, at least temporarily, away from cyber threats, the North Korean nuclear threat is just another dimension of the threat from cyber warfare.

Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea have all adopted an asymmetric warfare capability. Cyber warfare is not limited to computer viruses and hacking but is a combined-arms operation that includes the coordinated use of physical sabotage and an EMP attack. Our enemies consider a high-altitude nuclear EMP attack as the ultimate weapon. North Korea’s recent low-yield nuclear test, and its claim that it has a hydrogen bomb, are confirmation of the Congressional EMP Commission’s findings that North Korea is attempting to acquire a super-EMP weapon —a low-yield hydrogen bomb.

There are solutions, and the clarion bell has been rung. Our nation’s leaders have a duty to protect the homeland. This book is intended to raise awareness of the threat, and provide the reader with preparedness solutions.
EMP: Electromagnetic Pulse
will also help you answer the question:

What if
?

EMP: A threat from above to America's soft underbelly below. The clock is ticking. One second after. One year after.

Epigraph

*****

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.

~Albert Einstein

*****

Civilization is hideously fragile.

There’s not much between us & the horrors underneath, just about a coat of varnish.

~ CP Snow

*****

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.

~ John F. Kennedy

*****

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

~ Benjamin Franklin

*****

Because you never know when the day before

is the day before.

Prepare for tomorrow!

PART ONE
WHAT IS AN ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE?

Chapter One
Let’s Get Technical

Author’s Note: Bear with us here. Understanding the technical aspect of electromagnetic pulse technology is critical to assessing the threat and making your preparations.

An electromagnetic pulse—EMP, is an intense burst of electromagnetic energy caused by an abrupt, rapid acceleration of charged particles, usually electrons. An EMP can contain elements of energy over a large part of the electromagnetic spectrum, from very-low-frequency radio, to ultraviolet, wavelengths.

A typical example is a lightning strike that produces a localized EMP. As the lightning makes contact, it can direct a large electrical current in nearby wires. A single current surge can damage sensitive electronic circuitry, such as wires and connection contained in computers and ancillary equipment. Most of us are aware that electronic and communications systems should have some form of protection against the effects of the surge of electricity caused by a lightning strike. Surge protection devices, AC outlets, and modem jacks offer limited protection against the naturally-occurring electromagnetic pulse caused by lightning.

By definition, an
explosion
results from the very rapid release of a large amount of energy within a limited space. This definition applies to a lightning strike, a conventional explosive like dynamite, as well as for a nuclear detonation. However, the energy produced by any one of these
explosions
results from different means.

The sudden release of energy causes a considerable increase of temperature and pressure so that all the materials present are converted into hot, compressed gasses. These gasses reach an extremely high temperature and an increase in pressure, as they expand rapidly. This expansion initiates a pressure wave, or shock wave in its surroundings, whether ground, air, or water. One of the common characteristics of any explosion is a sudden increase of pressure at the front of the resulting wave, followed by a gradual decrease behind it. A shock wave of any magnitude is commonly referred to as a
blast wave
because it resembles, and is often accompanied by, a very strong wind.

Understand that all explosions are relative. The effects of the shock wave are directly proportional to the amount of electromagnetic energy associated with the detonation. Its force and effect depend on the quantity of energy associated with the explosion.

Like most conventional munitions, nuclear weapons impact its target with a blast wave. There are significant differences, however. Nuclear explosions are millions of times more powerful than the largest of conventional weapon detonations. For the release of the tremendous amount of energy associated with a nuclear weapon, the mass of the nuclear explosive must be much less than that of a conventional high explosive. Also, the temperatures reached in a nuclear explosion are much higher.

One of the principal differences between conventional weapons and a nuclear EMP is the powerful electrical currents created by the blast. For that reason, the effectiveness of the conventional bomb and a nuclear EMP differ because the target is vastly different. Conventional weapons seek out hard targets—a surface burst. Nuclear EMPs seek out a high-altitude location above the Earth’s surface—an air burst.

Chapter Two
What are the characteristics of a nuclear EMP?

A nuclear EMP has three components—E1, E2, and E3, as defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission, or IEC.

The E3 pulse is a very slow pulse that can last anywhere from ten seconds to several minutes. An E3 is common in geomagnetic disturbances from the sun—
solar storms
, and will vary in effect, based upon the strength of a solar induced EMP.

The E2 pulse usually lasting less than a second, is similar in strength and timing to the electrical pulses produced by lightning.

The E1 pulse is a very fast pulse that generates high voltages in electrical conductors. It is produced when gamma radiation from a powerful nuclear detonation strips away electrons from the Earth’s atmosphere. The process of stripping away the electrons is commonly known as the Compton Effect—the result of a high-energy photon colliding with a target, which releases the electrons. Once released, these electrons travel downward through the Earth’s atmosphere at nearly the speed of light.

If the Earth did not have a magnetic field, a large vertical pulse of electric current like this would strike the area immediately below the detonation. But in reality, the Earth’s magnetic field deflects the flow of electrons across the surface of the planet to create a very large, brief burst of energy—an EMP. This is why there is an inverse relationship between the height of the detonation and the surface area affected; the lower the detonation altitude—the smaller the affected area. A height burst of three hundred miles would affect the U.S. from coast-to-coast.

The E1 pulse causes most of its damage by overwhelming electrical breakdown voltages. An E1 pulse can destroy all forms of electronics because the surge of energy is simply too fast for ordinary surge protectors to provide sufficient protection from the enormous voltage spike.