2 big EMP protection lies
There are a lot of people talking about electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) these days. A few of them actually know what they’re talking about. And even those few don’t know exactly what effects an EMP might have because most of it is still theory. If someone tries to sell you something that will protect your electronic equipment in the event of an EMP caused by a solar flare, a nuclear war or a terrorist group detonating a nuclear device above the earth, do your research before spending any money. It’s likely to be a scam.
First, let’s take a quick look at exactly what an EMP is and how it can burn out electrical and battery-operated devices. A nuclear burst close to the ground can cause untold misery for people, but it’s really not all that damaging to electronic equipment because that burst is quickly dampened by the earth. Any EMP effects would be confined to the region of the blast. EMPs become more powerful and widespread when a nuclear device is detonated much higher up in the atmosphere where the earth cannot soak up the free electrons.
In theory, one 20-megaton bomb exploded at 200 miles above the United States could cause an EMP that would knock out much of civilian electronic equipment across the continental U.S. Terrorists know this and there is no question that somewhere, someone is working on trying to turn this into reality.
Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, at the heart of the Cold War, both the U.S. and U.S.S.R. were testing nuclear devices in the earth’s atmosphere. One of the U.S. tests in 1962, known as the Starfish Prime project, detonated at an altitude of about 250 miles. It produced a yield equivalent to approximately 1.4 megatons of TNT and resulted in an EMP that illuminated a large area of the Pacific Ocean, caused electrical damage in Hawaii some 900 miles away from the detonation point, and trapped high-energy electrons to form radiation belts around the earth, disabling one-third of satellites in low earth orbit and causing other satellites to fail over time.
Also in 1962, the Soviet Union detonated a 300-kiloton missile warhead west of Dzhezkazgan at an altitude of 180 miles. The resulting EMP blew the fuses and overvoltage protectors on telephone lines, burned down a power plant and shut down 620 miles of power cables.
Those types of tests have long since been banned, and while there is data from the tests, it is not as comprehensive as many would like. The fact is, we still don’t know for sure how an EMP would affect a modern society that has become dependent on electronics. The information is sketchy. Even electronics designers have to test their equipment in powerful EMP simulators before they can be sure it’s capable of withstanding the effects.
For example, it has been widely assumed for some time now that battery-operated vehicles including cars and trucks would be disabled by an EMP. Logically, and certainly on paper, that assumption is correct. But a number of real-world experiments, including those conducted by the U.S military, have not confirmed that assumption. Many cars have proven to be resistant to the effects of EMP simulators, other than cars with fiberglass bodies, those located near large stretches of metal and possibly newer models with many IC circuits. One theory is that a car’s metal body is partially insulated by the rubber tires that are in contact with the ground.
Now let’s take a look at some of the false information there is out there about EMPs, which will help you avoid being scammed by those offering protection from them.
Light It Up
Some people have compared an EMP to a lightning strike. Going under the assumption that they are similar, they have designed strategies for protecting electrical equipment against it. This theory is flawed, and I will tell you right now that any claims of protection based on that theory are no good. The products they are pushing will not do what they are designed to do.
Yes, the effects of a lightning strike on electrical equipment can be similar to the effects of an EMP, including burning out electrical equipment with intense electronic surges. But an EMP is really more similar to a super-powerful radio wave.
Brain Dead?
Sticking with the lightning theme, there’s information out there that an EMP could fry people’s brains or cause them other health problems, such as being hit by lightning would do. If an EMP wiped out electronics nationally or even in a region, it could negatively affect a person being able to access his funds and find food and water, but the blast itself would not hurt a human, animal or plant. Wires carrying surges through wires to metal, such as what happens with electrical equipment, is what causes concentrated damage when it comes to an EMP.
Ultimately, the only real protection for your electronic equipment is going to be a Faraday cage.
Prior to the Civil War, English scientist Michael Faraday created a cage that blocked external static and non-static electric fields. This enclosure was formed by conducting material or by a mesh of such material. Its operation depends on the fact that an external static electrical field will cause the electric charges within the cage’s conducting material to redistribute themselves so as to cancel the field’s effects in the cage’s interior. Within your home, a Faraday cage could protect your most valuable electronic equipment, including computers, during an EMP attack.
If an electronic devise survived an EMP blast through a faraday cage and was removed after the blast. Would it still work? I have been told there will be particles in the air which would destroy any electrical device once turned on after the blast. If this is true is there a time period to wait? would that depend on the size of the blast or the weather pattern during and after the blast?
Research Club K shipping container . A covert nuke missile .
Pretty good information on EMP Strikes including myths and fact at http://www.myempshield.com/
We could protect our grids with faraday cages. The cost is approximately 2 billion and would be worth it.
Regarding the comment “EMP is not dangerous to live”, consider those living in an large metropolitan area. A buddy of mine in the national guard says the biggest thing they worry about is civil unrest if TV or Internet service goes out for a few days. People get bored and restless and do stupid things. You get a hot summer day with no entertainment in the city, people hit the block and bad things happen. When a black out occurs in the city, the fear of god sets in to most residents praying its going to be resolved by night time. Read recent FBI crime studies that point to the drop of crime across the board for the past 10+ years is most likely due to the availability of air conditioning and an increase in access to home entertainment (TV, Internet).
The other “snake oil” I often see is mylar ESD protection bags being sold as an EMP protection device. ESD, or electrostatic discharge, is completely different from EMP. ESD bags are intended to protect electronic parts and assemblies form normal static build-up on hands/clothing/environment during handling prior to final assembly. EMP IS indeed a form of extremely powerful radio wave. So a SLIGHTLY conductive mylar ESD bag is nearly transparent to radio waves, and thus would afford zilch protection from EMP. Aluminum or copper foil, screen, etc formed into an electrically tight enclosure is your only assured means of EMP protection. Period.
I have done extensive preparations for an EMP attack and agree that it is a 100% chance it will happen. It’s so easy to do it makes no sense to attack the US in any other way. That’s why I’ve been getting my military grade Faraday Bags from Tech Protect. TechProtectBag.com has awesome pricing and high quality bags.
if we are hit with an emp, it will be obama doing it. not to divide further but we are divided. that is the point. rile them up with lies, pay them to riot, invite terrorists into our country to rise up once we are without power and are confused with everything that is going on. I agree exactly. dont rely on your electronics, be prepared for the worst and be read to defend what is yours. stock up on easy to fix foods and nutritious. beans rice water water filters medical supplies. good shoes warm cloths cool cloths depending on where you live. some way to heat your homes if you live in colder weather. some way to cook. stock up people. and try to get a message to Trump not to attack Russia because it wont be Russia, germany, uk, Israel, etc. it will be obama and the UN. solar if you can protect it. idk. I have to research more. and when it hits, dont run and open your stuff. trash cans to protect. they will swarm us and try to take all our reserves. the government has stock piled guns ammo emergency foods. water for the terrorists. they will try to make you think aliens exists. dont believe them. no matter what you see, they dont exist. no body snatchers remember. God is real. Even if you dont believe, dont fall back to sleep people.
EMP’s are not lethal to life.
For people who are bound to life support machines / in Psych wards, ICU / OR / ER, decontaminate units, de-pressurization units during an EMP, and anyone requiring any form of medicine made by modern technology, an EMP will end them, either immediately or later on.
For the most part though people are NOT killed by the EMP itself , but the extreme dependence on technology does ……
An EMP attack is one of many terrible scenarios – and you can’t prepare for ALL of them! So may I be the first to suggest”Prioritizing”? For instance, I’m more inclined to see regional disruptions , Which cause? Take your pick. Civil Unrest , Riots, etc. ? This is my Step #1. EMP is #2 or 3, but REAL.
I lean toward Solar Flare over EMP BOMB as to likelihood, butvghats just me. Either would be catestrophic. Like #1, reasonable precautions and common sense dictate the extent of prepping. That’s why I’m reading all these and sorting through them. I now realize my homemade Faraday Cage is wholey inadequate , and have ideas how to strengthen same. Thanks!
my ex-husband was dead 5 days after Maria hit Puerto Rico. he was in a hospital. This is what will happen in such an event. Anybody with medical problems will die soon afterwards. Worry about the young, educate them and get ready to sacrifice yourself for the next generation .Choices will be necessary. Be ready to make those choices and not regret them if they were wrong.That will hinder your ability to move on. We will all make mistakes especially during severe and catastrophic conditions. EDUCATE!!!!!!
What good is a Faraday Cage to “protect” your electronics, when there will be no grid to plug it into AFTER an attack?
Good point. However, people will be scrambling to get the electricity back on – WE NEED IT -, perhaps in a few weeks. If nothing else, it may be good for trading…
I have been saving 12V 70AH batteries for future need of battery power, are they safe from a EMP bomb or do they need to be protected by a faraday cage?
Batteries should be fine. I recommend storing them dry, no electrolyte, in sealed bags filled with an argon purge. Store electrolyte separately in jugs.
The 2 REAL jewels in all of this is the books recommended 1) Lights Out:A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared,Surviving the Aftermath BY Ted Koppel. 2) One Second After BY William R. Forstchen.
Have any tests been conducted on home solar power arrays and systems to determine how extensive the damage would be? The reason I ask is we are getting ready to build a new home with a solar system to try and go off grid. Would I essentially need a full replacement system in the event of an EMP attack? I already own the Power4patriots emergency generator.
As far as I know, all solar panels have charge control electronics built in, which would be destroyed by an EMP, as would the inverter your panels feed into. There is no way to protect a deployed solar system since just the wiring connecting everything together would become a conduit to everything connected.
You can keep an entire library of reference books on a laptop, watch DVD’s and listen to music on same laptop which can be recharged from solar power. Working 2 way radios will be invaluable after a disaster….
Sol- ark makes an EMP proof solar array.
https://www.sol-ark.com
Cannot we do the exact thing to our enemies that they are thinking of doing to the US? Would it not be prudent to take them out of the equation before they do to us what we can prevent? Statue of liberty be damned. We must protect our selves before protecting others.
yes our main strategy in reply to a EMP strike is to do same to whomever has done it and those nation’s who may have helped in any way, whether it be money, equipment, any type of participation and their probable allies
I am facing problem in recharging of solar batteries, there is back up of the batteries are very low and i want to increase it. I am try to develop good backup based batteries.
Get marine deep cycle batteries at Rural King- I have 6 of them
I have a pace maker and defib trying to figure out the best way to survive as long as possible. I have a fair amount of electrical and hands on experiences with wind and solar electrical generation, just want to be around long enough to help the kids get started. Im 51 and had a massive heart attack in 2001 very little heart function left but went with a pm and defib hoping to get into a stem cell trial. I have been accepted into 2, the first in 2002 was too new and the one in 2014 I was not able to do because the pm and defib temporarily brought my heart function too high for the trial only to come back down within a year of being implanted. My pacemaker is set to keep me in constant rate and my defib is just in case of instant death. I know I can’t hide in a garbage can with no oxygen so what options do i have.
All this talk about building a Faraday cage to protect electronics sounds good. But only if the equipment does not have a wire running out of the shielded area. And that means whatever is in the Faraday cage is not going to be doing much. Many metal enclosed radios would not need a Faraday shield. The aperture size is small. Connect a power cord and antenna… all bets are off. Some lessons can be learned from attempts at lightning protection. A huge ground wire running down a tower to an excellent ground system can act as the primary of a transformer. When the huge current spike from a direct hit arrives, the secondary of the transformer – the other nearby cables – will see a huge voltage spike.
Unless the cabling is connected to the cage via an entry gland, in which case the integrity is maintained.
The resonate frequency of the size and shape of your faraday cage should be backed up with another non resonate inside cage to the outside cage to prevent the near wave penetration. A non conductive material must be used between each layer.
The ignorance of basic science is astonishing in both this article AND the comments.
Your statement is not helpful! Here is your chance to point out and correct the deficiencies you have found.
well said
You might be interested in this story from last week about EMPs from two guys on the EMP task force: http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/2015/07/15/electromagnetic-attack-claim-american-lives/30219565/
Thanks for the information. there are a lot of unknowns and a lot of threats.
I would like to pass along some advice given to me by someone wiser than me.
“First, assume nothing that you can do will save anything electrical. purchase all items you think you will need that are manually powered. hand saw, ax, brace and bit, shovel, oil lamps. wood burning stove. Get a good library of books you can read, full of everything under the sun.( foxfire books cover a lot) learn the techniques. Get right with God and your set.
any thing else will eventually fail. learning the ways of old will keep you occupied and out of trouble and you wont worry so much if your trying to build a foot powered lathe to make a baseball bat and how to make leather for a ball and glove to keep you occupied after all the doomsday scenarios have played out.
Yes he was sort of a smart ass but I got his point.
one other thing he said was
learn how to grow something, damn kids worried about their electronic contraptions, can you eat that phone? Id hate to pass that in the morning.”
after thinking about his advice and trying to put it into action I have found I sleep better at night knowing that I know how to actually do things. and no matter how any thing turns out I can make a way for me and my family in relative comfort. and if any of the other things I attempt to save work, well thats just bonus.
Right on!!!
who needs broadcasting stations, have you heard of ham and cb? Military bases usually have MARS for com, plus hardened equipment for tactical.
I went through this before. You cannot use tests from the 50’s and 60’s to prove out a theory using today’s electronics. The substrate materials are not made the same, are of different materials, are seriously thinner, and more susceptible to transient voltages because of their smaller size. In addition, this nonsense about cars from the 70’s being immune – once again, voltage regulators were integrated into the alternators by the early 70’s – and yes, they did contain NPN/PNP junction based circuits – which are destroyed with high voltages (I.E. Power transistors). That’s why things like diodes and transistors do not live through these events, especially integrated circuits, which are made up of literally millions of transistors . A diode for example is rated by PIV – Peak Inverse Voltage, you want to destroy the diode? just exceed that voltage, it will either burn out or actually burn up and cease to rectify. Batteries are not susceptible because the pulse has nothing to burn up, and is very, very fast. A Faraday cage must be constructed properly to block the pulse, and your microwave is unlikely to do that – it operates at a specific frequency, and that “notch” frequency is the one that is blocked out. Any opening that is large enough to pass any part of the pulse will destroy at least part of your electronics contained within. Things like LED flashlights? They have “junctions” in them as in “Light Emitting Diode” – so, yes, they would burn unless protected. Will it miss some things – maybe, nobody actually knows if having something sitting behind a steel beam will be fully destroyed – most likely. But the reality is, it only needs a few parts or one part to fail.
What is this nonsense about “I am going to test my faraday cage with a cell phone” nonsense?
An EMP will be about 100k times stronger than any cell tower signal. Most will be lulled into false security with their feeble attempts. You will need a cage that has several feet between the EMP cage wall and what you are trying to protect as the cage will re-radiate the pulse like an antenna…
why worry about tech gear, when i think EMF could be put to better use, disrupt the visual spectrum.
You do not understand the concept of a Faraday Cage. It does not, inherently, re-radiate the signal to the inside of the cage. Its limitation is how good a conductor it is. A perfect conductor (only possible at absolute zero) would provide perfect protection. The wave created by the current flow along the surface of the cage exactly cancels out the external wave.
Here’s the problem…ok, and emp attach has occurred, now you take your protected equipment out of the faraday cage to use, and a second emp is detonated, wiping them out as well.
Ok so ….you have a cell phone …..with NO network because it all got fried…am I wrong?
Survival without electronics. People have lived without electricity for a long time. Let go of your electronics addiction, go camping for a taste of reality without electrical devices.
except our money system is mostly electronic now. Imagine all the money in the banks with no record of who it belongs to. the food industry that cans cooks and distributes food worldwide gone. shipping gone. unfortunately most people are not survival educated and will suffer greatly.
SO I think suggestions on how these people could minimize the impact on them would be more beneficial than treating them like gamer noobs ;) Just sayin either we’re united or divided . the first thing you wanna do to conquer a people is divide them. …. Just sayin
I PUT MY HEAD IN A MICROWAVE AND DIDN’T HEAR MY PHONE RING. mY EARS ARE RINGING NOW, HOWEVER.
Don’t you know cell phones cause cancer. LOL
He stuck his head in a micro-wave….ooops, too late now.
My thought is–If someone launches a nuclear device how many more will be launched in retaliation. Multiple launches is good for no one. The scare is — someone stupid enough to start it.
In order to retaliate, we would need to know who launched the original attack, but if, for example, Al-Qaida was able to launch a nuke from a container ship in NY harbor, who would we retaliate against?
EVERYWHERE EAST OF EDEN…Or something like that. Won’t matter, the domino effect will be inevitable. The world without the US will be a scary world indeed. A controversial statement, indeed. But….there it is.
We wouldn’t be able to retaliate as it would take out our entire grid.
That is why our nukes are OFF of the grid – exactly so they can be launched in retaliation. That assumes we know WHOM to retaliate against, however.
WE have ships and troops all over the world at any given time. If the grid in the U.S. went down, we would still have the ability to retaliate.
Nukes and HAAPR notwithstanding, a simple E-bomb is ridiculously easy (and cheap) to make for a couple of hundred bucks, off the shelf. It puts out a square wave pulse of high magnitude, meaning it can destroy electrical and electronic gear using frequencies from 60 cycle to x-ray. Speaking of which, I have seen hospital x-ray machines put out pulses which penetrated rigid conduit which should have acted as a Faraday cage. The answer may lie in using three or more layers of isolated alternating ferromagnetic (iron), paramagnetic (aluminum), and diamagnetic (copper), isolated with insulating materials (like cardboard). Depending on the size and proximity of the bomb, that may protect your gear.
Anyone who babbles on about Chemtrails, HAARP or “scalar attacks is just muddying the Prepper waters with inane nonsense. There’s a reason that no reputable scientist has ever confirmed the “danger” of any of these — just internet loonies.
Got any real peer-reviewed studies on these fairy tales?
Nops. There’s a reason.
EMP threat is real. Let’s concentrate on real.
Actually there is an entire federal commission dedicated to the EMF threat. Though global warming kaka get’s more funding because big money commerce has their fingers in the tax payer pie. The nonsense is the inference that there are no dangers and no conspiracies ;)
You guys can check out ORGANITES, and all the other good stuff. There is nothing really to worry about, but do be aware. It is great to know this stuff, however we can’t get suck in to all these FEARS. It will put limitations in your life. Focusing on food, water, and shelter is really a small picture trust me. There is so much we can’t even consume. We are beings that will always have abundance. Stop believing you deserve all these things like lack of food, water, and shelter. You guys are well beyond all that.
I have been looking for broken microwave units because I’ve heard that if you eliminate the electric cord on the unit that it would function as a Faraday cage. THEN I had a brainstorm, I had built a very large sun oven, a perfect Faraday cage with no cord to cut off! I’m going to do the cell phone test now. Hey, it worked, it didn’t ring and when I left a message the phone had no message on it. WOW! The sun oven I made is just many layers of foil over a heavy cardboard box. It’s almost too heavy to lift but it works, no ground wire but it’s just sitting on a wooden floor. I did the same test on a microwave and while the phone didn’t ring it took the message so no protection there (I didn’t cut the cord to it). So check out or build a sun oven, kill two birds with one stone. Victoria
That experiment is flawed. If your phone got the message ‘after’ you took the phone ‘out’ of the micro-wave…the oven may have worked after all. However….the EMP is not the same as a signal from your cell tower. Don’t depend on a micro to save your stuff. As far as cell phones are concerned…you won’t need it ever again if there is an EMP attack. Ever….
Would a generator still work? I have a gen. that uses propane. I thought we would be “saved”, because we have a generator. What if not, could we do to protect it?
A generator MIGHT work, however you can make sure it WILL work if you use a faraday cage. They are easy to make, all you need is a metal case, like a metal trash can, and an insulator to keep your equipment from touching the metal. The metal cage will catch the EMP like a shield, and the insulation (like rubber, wood, or cardboard) will keep your generator or electronics from taking the charge in.
A simple one I am going to try is a carboard box with tin foil covering the whole thing, and then another box on the outside to keep the tin foil from tearing. The way to test a faraday cage’s effectiveness is by putting a radio inside it. If you can hear the radio, its not working. If there is static, it works!!
Exactly correct. To test your Faraday cage, place a battery operated am radio turned on, turned up, and set to your local station. When your cage is closed station is gone.
Critical items to protect from EMP … home-self-defense weapons will become critical following an EMP event … i.e.- electronic sights … holographic, red dot reflex, night vision, lasers / lights. etc.
Emergency supplies such as food, water, clothing and medical items will not likely be vulnerable, unless the EMP causes a fire in your storage shelter or home … walkie-talkies, multi-band radios and such are even secondary to the defense items stated above.
Good point on emergency supplies – When was the last time you used a manual thermometer? Anything that has an LCD or LED display, or uses diodes to detect the temperature will be destroyed – get a manual one for your first aid kit. Sorry guys that have diabetes – your meter will burn out. Interestingly enough, they are cheap enough to buy and store, it’s the test strips that will get you. Of course, you won’t be able to get insulin. And if you have a head lamp that is LED, make sure you wrap it in thick foil, then paper, then thick foil again, and MAYBE it will come through OK.
why
Speaking of which, and I do not know how old these posts are, but, this brings me to a heart pounding epiphany, the 400 missiles ‘stolen’ during Benghazi, and this ;
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/08/outgoing-dhs-secretary-janet-napolitano-warns-of-serious-cyber-attackunprecedented-natural-disaster/#disqus_thread
Why have you linked to an article without a single mention of Benghazi OR missing missiles, which, as I understand it, were all of the shoulder-fired type and not capable of launching a nuke?
Thanks for wasting our time.
they say you can build the cage using fine mesh wiring, How fine? will window screen material work? that’s about as fine of a mesh I know of
The effectiveness of a mesh is frequency limited. As long as the gaps are smaller than 1/6 the wavelength of the signal, it will have an effect, just not very good toward the limit. Do you remember the big satellite dishes with mesh reflectors? Same thing. Have you ever driven through a steel bridge, or under a bunch of wires while listening to AM radio and had the signal drop out? You’re actually inside an effective Faraday cage for signals with that wavelength. It’s pretty cheap and easy to use galvanized steel sheets, though, making sure the edges are well connected. If you use screen, make bloody well sure it’s aluminum rather than nylon, and realize aluminum oxidizes to a non conductive surface, so it can be tricky to connect. Ground at one point.
Grounding is not a necessary part of a Faraday Cage. A Faraday Cage creates, by electric flows along its surface created by the EMP wave, an exact nullification of the EMP wave, Grounding actually undermines its Faraday Cage qualities as any currents that are directed toward the ground wire will appear as an uncancelled wave within the cage. It is better for a Faraday Cage to be insulated from the ground.
The confusing factor is that there is a second method of blocking EMP that requires grounding. An EMP wave, like a radio wave, travels in a straight line — typically called “line of sight”. It cannot “turn corners”. So a strongly grounded panel between the object being protected and the source will block the save, even though the item is not surrounded. The downside is that I know of no hard data on the requirements (unlike a Faraday Cage, for which there are known standards and units of measure). A large current would be induced, so a normal small ground wire would be insufficient. Also, unless you will not know the direction where the EMP will come from, you still need to block all sides.
A feasible approach to strong protection is to have a Faraday Cage like outer container which is very well grounded, and an inner true Faraday Cage well insulated from the outer container.
I have a Liberty Fat Boy gun safe, 800 pounds. It has a humidifier in it. I mention that because I’ve read that a Faraday cage needs to be grounded. (However, I’ve also read articles than don’t mention grounding…so I’m not sure about the necessity of grounding.) I’m thinking the safe would make a good Faraday cage & since the humidifier is plugged into the wall outlet, that would take care of the grounding requirement. Is my thinking right about this? Is a Faraday cage required to be grounded? Would the safe make an acceptable cage? Please, someone answer.
simple dirty test. turn on a battery operated radio, put it in your safe. Lock it, if you still can hear the radio, the safe isn’t EMP proof. Use a cell phone for a different frequency. That wire going into the safe is connected to miles of wire (the grid) which can and will conduct the EMP into your safe. BTW do you have an electronic keypad on the safe?
The door on the safe is not made to ensure electrical contact with the safe, so you’ll basically have a big hole in your cage, rendering it ineffective. Yes, if you put an ohmmeter between the safe and the door, it will likely read near zero through the hinges, but the whole point of a Faraday cage is continuous electrical coverage. One point of ground is advisable. I say all this as a radio engineer that’s built, evaluated, maintained and troubleshot single layer cages to -120dB to at least 1GHz, and double layer cages better than I had equipment to measure them.
Something that most of these articles completely miss, is specifically highlighted here:
Anything protected MUST BE COMPLETELY IN THE CAGE> a power cord hanging out will create a current during the pulse, and THAT is what damages electronics. A cord plugged into the AC outlet will have thousands of volts impressed upon it by the ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE, due to exposure to miles of public utilities. ( A wire passed thru a magnetic field will have a current flowing in it, and the reverse is true. This is the basis of all electric motors.)
Actually the cord plugged into the wall will supply a route of access for current to flow into your safe/cage. The outer surface of the cage has to be unbroken so to speak,else the current produced will have a place to”flow” into the cage. The whole purpose of a cage is to supply a route for the current produced by an EMP to flow around the outside of the cage thereby protecting the items stored inside.
I do not believe that this is so far in the future anymore. The 20 megaton missile is not necessary. Some military people refer to it as a “scud in a bucket” . Basically, they could put a short range missile in a shipping container on top of a freighter. Cross the ocean, and park 12 miles off shore. Open the shipping container and fire the rocket. Now multiply that by about 3-5 for each coast (Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, Alaska and Hawaii). they could even transfer some to river barges up the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, and hit the interior as well. There may be some gaps here and there, but a significant amount of damage will be done.
Coordinate that with all the suitcase dirty bombs coming across the southern border, The united States of America could be wiped out in 24 hours. Even if we retaliate, the devastation, destruction and deaths will already be done.
The president’s handlers in Saudia Arabia really don’t want this to happen. They make too much money selling us oil that we could drill ourselves. But they can’t control Iran or N. Korea.
Remember the 400 missiles stolen during Benghazi,?
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/08/outgoing-dhs-secretary-janet-napolitano-warns-of-serious-cyber-attackunprecedented-natural-disaster/#disqus_thread
Missiles launched on multiple coasts isn’t really necessary as EMP would be line-of sight. Launched from gulf or Atlantic…ie: Florida…or Long Island Sound….the effect would/could be the same.
I have an aluminum shipping container 8 ft by 48 ft that is completely sealed except for the rubber insulation around the big doors. I’m building a wire frame to go around the doors so the entire container should be protected. It’s grounded and large enough to hold a couple of vehicles plus about anything else I would want to protect. Besides a generator, both diesel and solar, I’m storing a computer, printer, battery backup, etc. just to save all our photos and documents which I can access if needed. Besides that, I’m backing up everything on DVD’s. I have most other items in duplicate, such as sw radios, TV’s with hundreds of DVD’s for entertainment, deep-cell storage batteries and inverters, plus most everything else we can think of. Of course, should it happen, I’m sure we’ll discover things we should have saved. I welcome all suggestions.
Also, naturally, we have enough long-term food storage for our family and several neighbors to last a couple of years. It is currently kept in a basement that is maintained 60 degrees because it also serves as our “bunker” for our business servers, etc. The electronics may fry, but the food will be good much longer than the normal shelf-life at room temperature.
I’ll skip any info on protection: guns and ammo.
I read an article about food storage. he said NOT to keep all your food in 1 place, if word gets out you have food stored in your basement, starving, rioting, un-controllable mobs will destroy you and take your food. his suggestion was to have many smaller storage places spread around. if the mob does get in, they will take what you have in plane site and leave. he suggested even storing food inside walls and burying sealed plastic containers in the yard. just a thought, good luck
Very informative, thanks. Do you run duct work to the basement for AC? How do you protect the container from being vandalized? Just getting into this and am trying to figure out where to start.
Thank you! Finally someone has put it into words of reason. I have been emailing talk shows that lead people in all kinds of of uneducated theories that just hype the listeners up. Yes, the first one that can get a one megaton warhead on a big enough rocket would cause havoc on a large scale, but that is still years away. Localized detonations can still do line of sight destruction to electrical devices.
I was told that you can use an old microwave oven, as a emp protected faraday cage. Now that I know the cellphone trick, I will put my cell in it, and call it, see if it rings, if so, then I know I’ve been duped. Microwaves that don’t work are all over the dumps, so there would be a good recycle use.
If anyone knows about this already? Let us know!!
I heard that a galvanized garbage can sitting on a wood floor or on a non conductive surface that was grounded with the contents wrapped in bubble wrap would work. Have not test that but will.
Would an empty steel been used on farms to store grain, serve as a Faraday cage?
I need to put my brain in a faraday cage to protect it from the NEWS Station’s EMP attacks… E.loquent M.anure P.oop. The only one telling the truth in the news is “The Blaze”. Perhaps some tin foil hats might do the trick. All of the Hippies and Yuppies need to wake up and smell the E.M.P. and realize that their party has been invaded by COMMIES.
Forget EMP and Faraday cages…the real threat is scalar weapons systems….nothing will stop an attack by a scalar weapon….electronics, people, cars, power plants, etc. This tech was developed by Nikola Tesla and the Russians have been working on it since the 60’s….the US is playing catch-up with project HAARP and chemtrail spraying which will allow the HAARP beam to be “bounced” off the lower atmosphere….these covert technologies have the real and realized potential to deliver silent attacks domestically and worldwide…along with scalar “death rays” the uses are: biological delivery systems, deep earth scan radar, environmental dangers such as weather control, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, tidal waves, etc.; also involved is “mind scrambling” or mind control, over the horizon radar, missle/plane/etc. destruction while in flight, space weapon use and a whole bunch more uses…..
When complete the HAARP installation will produce 3 BILLION watts of destructive power….it will destroy humans as well as electronics and everything thing else….without warning and completely silent….
So EMP nuclear blasts are basically a scare tactic and a diversionary false “rumor”…..a scalar attack is the real threat and even if one was 3 miles down in the earth, surrounded by 10 feet of lead if that person is targeted he’s dead….and large population areas can be targeted also as well as nuclear subs that are supposed to be immune from detection…..
Have know about HAARP for quite some time and as to what it is capable of…but you won’t hear our reps talking about it or even want to listen to you either. I know I tried and got treated like a nut case.
Todd,
Best and most informative report I have seen. Thanks for sharing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCfhLjwv3oE
They have inexpensive Faraday cages on Amazon. Here is an interesting tutorial on building your own on the cheap. I had read this tip on earlier blogs, that wrapping electronics and sealing in aluminum foil, then re-wrapping in a grounded material like rubber, then placing inside an old solid metal filing cabinet and taping the door seals would work, but my IT guy at work who is a high tech guru said that would never work. Maybe adding the grounding element he shows would help. Would love to hear what others know is a for sure thing.
Even though I admire Frank for starting this thread, even he has a lot to learn about EMP’s and it’s effects on today electronic world. For those of you that take EMP’s and Solar Flares seriously, I’d like to to read this complete report and come back here and comment on it. Thanks!
http://www.futurescience.com/emp/emp-protection.html
Hey Todd I have read this before. The guy has a bachelors degree. Not a masters or PhD. In electronics and no physics?
One of the first things he said was electronics will not be harmed it is only the power transformers you have to worry about. lol
The US has a drone/ cruse missile called CHAMP made by Boeing that is an EMP device that knocks out electronics. There are all sorts of EMP devices that kill electronics out there. I have seen them small enough to hold in your hand to the size of a small car.
FYI microwave ovens don’t work. Garry Garner has the right idea. If you can put at least 2 feet of soil on all sides of the container. Wood lined on the interior and the grounds at least 5 feet deep. Epsom salts wash saturated at the grounds work well if soil is a little dry.
So what vehicles would be safe from EMP? Motorcycles? Also what about pacemakers and defibulators?
It’s not the type of vehicle that’s important, it’s the electronics running the engine. What you really need is a car old enough that it doesn’t have any such electronics, even electronic ignition or an alternator, but you could keep spares of those in your Faraday cage and should be able to pop them in and start up. Something from to 70s would probably be adequate.
Pacemakers will probably pop, sorry to say, and a defibrillator would need to be in a cage.
What good would it do to protect your electrical devices if emp burst takes out your power source? Solar panels and other electrical devices that provide electricity can’t be protected from them after all can they?
“Well” Paul, nothing is “the end of the discussion”-{sounds like an Algorean proverb} Americans esp us country boys+girls can survive ! With folks willing to help + learn/teach others; WE will move on into the future. But WOE to the other nations -‘removed from the land’- + logical common sense values/understanding. Government I’m sure is completely set up to survive for a while w/powers intact! However they’ll need US to be the -“People”- that make this country work -again…unless the Father sends the Son!!!
A Faraday cage is SO easy to make, I’m not sure why everyone doesn’t have multiples. I have one that is an old aluminum cooler, it already is lined, but I did put a thick layer of newspaper in. Taped with aluminum duct tape, it serves well. Another was a cooler for dairy products in the 40’s/50.s. Again, it is aluminum, sealed with the same tape. Lowe’s sells rolls of stainless and aluminum that can go around anything! You just have to make sure to pad so that nothing touches any of the six walls…Thanks for your sight!
I have couple of steel sheds. Would they protect electrical devices inside as long as they were insulated from the shed?
Answer to Linda J.
No a barn or shed WILL NOT work. They are actually to open to block the EMP.
If you want an idea if a structure is (maybe) EMP protected, try to use a cell phone inside of it. If you have ANY bars or can receive a call You can also try any radio in there to see if it will receive a radio station. If it does, IT IS NOT EMP SAFE! To be safe it has to have 100% RF shielding. And it has to be grounded.
To Kathy:
A faraday cage is a copper (or alluminum or other metalic material) ‘box’ [that is grounded] that is so constructed that no rf can get into, or out of, it. Think along the lines of a microwave oven, (one that is not ‘leaky’.) Screening does work, even though you can see through it, and air can pass through it because rf waves are much ‘bigger’ than light waves, or air molecules, and are thus blocked. Entire rooms, or even buildings, can be constructed this way. Many big (concrete) buildings have so much metal (re-bar) in them that they start to approach this. However they are not EMP proof because there are so many ‘rf’ holes in them (windows, doors, etc.) [See also my answer to Linda, above.
For small items, like radios, etc, wrapping them in AL Foil will help. Wrap them securely, put them in a metal box and ground the box. Size of box does not matter. An old dryer might work, just ground it and don’t turn it on!
what is a faraday cage exactly
I am not clear about the physics of EMP being generated by a solar flare. I know that solar flares can be very disruptive of electrical systems on earth, but this is NOT the same as EMP.
For many years I was the MIL-STD-1553 guru at my place of employment, that standard was intended to defeat EMP by inducing equal and opposite voltages on two wires. It has withstood a lot of testing in EMP simulation chambers. It does not use a Faraday shield. Actually, you can defeat MIL-STD-1553 with a nuke, but in that case the nuke is close enough to vaporize you. Of course, problems come up when the managers overrule the engineers and deviate from the Mil Standard without proper modeling and simulation of the consequences. I guess that’s why they fired us all and put us on a secret list of people who could never be hired again. Ask the guy who tried to stop the launch of the Challenger space shuttle.
As for terrorists detonating a 20 Megaton warhead at an altitude of 200 miles, that is not something we need to worry about for a while. Some of the largest Soviet tests were around 100 megatons. If such a weapon were detonated at an altitude of 100 miles, the THERMAL RADIATION would cause widespread fires on the ground, and possibly a totally suffocating firestorm. There would be nobody left to worry about EMP.
I will never forget the nuclear engineering class I had from Edward Teller (father of the fusion bomb) at Berkeley in the summer of 1972. While giving this course, he also gave a concert recital series wherein he played all 48 Bach preludes and fugues on the campus organ. I have a hard enough time on flute and oboe doing one note at a time, but that Bach has FOUR TRACKS! We were learning to create harbors and canals with nuclear explosives. One student asked, “Dr. Teller, how small can you make a nuclear device?” Teller answered, “We don’t like to admit it, but we have made a few that didn’t go off at all.”
Within a few months after an EMP attack, or any other event that causes long-term loss of the electric power grid, most people will become weary and despondent because of the hardship and starvation, and they will become desperate to get their modern civilization back. Without prior planning and action, this will take years. Want to learn how to take steps to ensure that you can get modern civilization back quickly, or never lose it in the first place?
Would a steel barn or shed work as a Faraday cage?
Would an Emp or coronal mass ejection wipe out a solar panel?
I also recommend the book Sig mentioned and have given it to others who need an increased level of awareness!
One Second After is a 2009 fiction novel by American writer William R. Forstchen. The novel deals an unexpected electromagnetic pulse attack on the United States. He spells out so well the chaos that will ensue, and it gave me a different view of things I need to do to prep for the possibility of such an event.
This is a “must read” !!
As General Habiger said, it’s not a question of “if”, but “when”.
Emp cages will save your radio communications gear, thats vhf,uhf and Hf gear.Transistorized radios, CB,s solar regulators, car computers, can all be stored in an emp or faraday cage.The book one second after is excellent.Dry foos and water will keep your family alive till either the grid coms up or you generate your own.There is an inordinate amount of misinformation on this subject. Cell phones will be out for a long time if we get a big CME and new emissions called filaments are being observed now by NASA, they really don’t know what is going on with the sun.
May take a long time to get the grid back up if an EMP fries the power station transformers. Understand they are all built in China these days. (I hear they contain toxic a substance and can not be made here anymore.) Might take months to get the grid back up.
And, as far as dried food is concerned, there are, so I hear, EOs that allows the government to take what you have in an emergency and redistribute it to those who did not plan ahead. That way, we can all starve together! So, find a good place to hide your food stash. Big O will be coming for it!
Read the book- One Second After- One man’s view of what would happen in a small community
near Charlotte N.C. . It’s a riveting book- you won’t be able to put it down. Author-W R Forstchen.
Foreword by Newt Gingrich
The Afterword by General Eugene Habiger and his views on the real threat to America
Outstanding book and a real page-turned! Highly recommend it.
Well heck! I just retired and going to get fried before I can piss off all my money!
If there is an EMP attack, it is true satellites, towers, radio stations and most communication would cease because they would be too large to enclose (unless spare components on ground communications are put in a cage just for this type emergency) BUT for the common person I would advise to buy SPARE two way radios, walkie talkies,CB’s, short wave radios and keep them in a cage at all times.Along with the grid going down, those with solar or wind power to also have these SPARE electronic parts and batteries protected. Communications will not cease if these steps be taken.
As far as hospitals are concerned, they could build a room as a Faraday cage to house SPARE generators, operating, diagnosing equipment, etc. Same goes towards any business in essentials such as gas refineries, car manufacturers, food processing and farmers, etc., to keep our country ahead of complete disaster.
Well Paul, can we agree then that that would definitely solve the population problem?
What good would a faraday cage be in protecting one’s personal equipment, i.e. computer etc., if the electrical power required to operate the equipment is shut down? And the phone line system that will be needed to conduct information to/from a satelitte dish thence to/from a server for the benefit of online communication? They too would be inop. In sum, a faraday cage is essentially useless. Cell phones and cell phone towers? Also dead! And soon, without food, water, medicine, medical care, people will be dead! It is estimated that 90% of the affected population will die within one year of a crippling EMP event. End of discussion!
I have thought about this problem and prepared for it by purchasing rechargeable batteries, along with a solar charger in which to charge them, for use in my walkie-talkies and other battery operated devices. I also have a small tablet computer (and a solar charger for it) on which I have loaded many PDF files covering multiple survival strategies, such as “how to start a fire” or “which wild plants are edible”, etc. Now, I’m trying to sort out the BS from the truth about EMP’s, CME’s and Faraday cages. Not having much luck determining what the truth is.
Good idea on the tablet – I’ve done the same thing. That said, i would NOT rely on that as my only “survival library” – that tablet could die of “natural causes” later on even if it came through EMP just fine. Just AVOID thinking of those mylar ESD (electrostatic discharge) bags as real EMP (electromagnetic pulse) protection – they’re NOT.
Other thing is to keep ANOTHER Faraday container with some more goodies in case they do a “repeat performance” that would zap the stuff you removed from protection after the first event.